Copycat
by MyDarkAngel710
Summary: A copycat already made an impression on the team once. The difference is that this copycat is copying killers from the team's own dark past. Will they be able to stop this Copycat before the unthinkable happens? Reid and Review!
1. Sleepless

He woke in a cold sweat. The man had invaded his dreams again. He reached for his alarm clock. 3:48 a.m.

He rolled onto his back knowing that there was no way he would be able to get back to sleep. He squeezed his eyes shut anyway, only to be met with the image of the scowling figure.

_Go away,_ he thought in vain. _Leave me alone._

_You know what you need to do to make me go away_, the man replied.

He knew. He just didn't want to admit it.

_You'll be back, even if I do it._

_I will, but won't it be nice for a little quality time to yourself? You need your rest. Eventually it will happen. Eventually, you'll give in. You always do._

* * *

Reid hurried into the BAU. He was running late. Again. He looked up at the conference room and saw Hotch already filing the team in on the new case.

_Great_, he thought to himself.

Dashing up the stairs and down the hall, he tried to think of some excuse, even though he knew it would be useless. He wasn't that good of a liar to begin with, and lying to a group of profilers was pointless. He silently opened the door to the conference room. No one said anything, but everyone looked at him. He tried to smile a sorry, but had to stifle a yawn instead. He quickly slid into the seat next to Morgan.

Morgan looked over and gave him an _I'm talking to you later_ look. Reid ignored him and focused on Hotch.

"The Unsub is unique in the fact that he copies many killers instead of just one. The only thing that connects the murders is an apology that he leaves at each victim's house: 'I'm sorry for what I've done. I had no choice. Please forgive me.' We're leaving in twenty minutes." Hotch took a call on his cell phone as everyone else filed out of the room.

Reid ignored Morgan, who was following him, and went to the coffee machine. He hadn't had time to stop by Starbuck's and was already feeling like he was falling over.

"You gonna tell me what's up?" Morgan asked, leaning on the wall next to the machine.

"I don't know what you mean. I just didn't wake up on time." Reid couldn't decide between hazelnut or almond flavoring.

"Keep tellin' yourself that, kid, maybe someday it will be true." Morgan gave Reid a meaningful look as he left.

In frustration, Reid just punched a button. He sighed as he raised the coffee to his lips and took a sip. He made a face at the taste of apricot coffee.

"Reid, man, wake up! It's time to go." Morgan shook Reid's shoulder, jerking him awake.

"What?" Reid asked as he shook his head, trying to clear it.

"You fell asleep," Morgan chuckled. "It's time to head out to the jet. Come on."

Reid looked in confusion at his desk for a minute before the day's events came back to him. Blinking hard and yawning, Reid grabbed his overnight bag and his shoulder bag before running to catch up with the rest of the team.

In the SUV, Reid started on his second coffee of the day. Morgan had been smart enough to grab him one.

"I don't think it's going to help much," Morgan had shrugged as he'd given Reid the coffee. Reid had thanked him profusely and promised to buy him dinner while they were where ever they were going.

Morgan was sitting up front with Hotch while Reid was in the back like usual. They were talking about the case. Reid was hardly listening.

"What do you think Reid?" Hotch asked, looking at him in the rearview mirror.

Reid scratched his head as he tried to remember what was last said. Something about a past killer using hammers and strangling people…. "That would be John Wayne Glover, better known as 'The Granny Killer'. He would attack his victims with hammers in broad daylight and public places then strangle them with their own pantyhose."

"That was his first kill," Hotch continued in his conversation with Morgan.

Reid stared out the window. He wasn't needed anymore. If they wanted something else, they would ask. The entire case would be gone over again on the plane. Right now, all Reid could think about was sleep.

He shook himself and took another gulp of his quickly cooling coffee.

The SUV stopped at the airport and Reid quickly left the car, not waiting for Hotch and Morgan. JJ, Prentiss, and Rossi were already on the jet and settled in. Reid nodded in their general direction and slid into the closest seat. He sighed and finished off his coffee. _Men and women both consume on average 1.6 coffee cups a day. I'm well on my way to surpassing that,_ Reid thought as he yawned yet again.

Hotch and Morgan entered the jet and Reid quickly took out a book and started to read a random page. Reid simply flipped pages at the appropriate times instead of actually getting into the book. He had no energy. It wasn't long after takeoff before the words began to blur and Reid again slipped into a fitful sleep.

* * *

_You can't stand this forever,_ the man said.

_Yes I can. I'm stronger than you._

_You never were a good liar. It's time for you to face the truth. The only way to stop this is to do as I ask. It's so simple._

_No…. no… I won't… I won't….not again…_

* * *

Loud laughter jolted Reid awake. The still open book on his lap fell to the floor with a loud thunk.

"Reid? Are you awake?" JJ called from the back of the plane.

"Yeah," Reid answered. He rubbed his face with one hand as he bent down and picked up the book. He felt like he hadn't gotten any sleep at all.

"Good," Rossi said. "Maybe now somebody can put this cheater in his place."

Reid looked back and saw that everyone was gathered around the table engaged in a game of poker. Even Hotch was smiling. Morgan was obviously winning with his giant stack of chips.

Reid smiled sleepily as he unfolded his gangly form from the chair. "Okay, fine. I'm coming."

Prentiss vacated her seat, giving him her meager pile of chips and her own hand. "I stink at this game. You take over."

Reid slid into the seat.

"Ready to loose, man?" Morgan asked.

Reid only smiled. _I didn't grow up in Las Vegas and learn nothing._

Reid knew when to fold, when to raise, when to call. He played all his cards right and in no time, Morgan was feeling the heat.

"All in," Morgan said.

"Same here."

"Show your hands, boys," Rossi said.

"Full house," Morgan smiled as he reclined in his chair. "Looks like you're a little too tired to day my man."

"Don't celebrate too soon, Morgan. Straight." Reid triumphantly laid out his cards.

"Now, what are the chances of you getting that?"

Reid's mind started to work without him really thinking. "About 40 out of 2,598,960, or about 0.0014%. Your hand is about 0.14% likely."

"Thanks, Reid."

"No problem," Reid smiled.

"I can't beat you at gin, now I can't beat you at poker."

"I keep telling you, you can't beat a magician."

Hotch cleared his throat. "OK, guys, back to business. Now that everyone's awake, let's review the case."

Reid shifted uncomfortable in his chair, trying to become as small as possible.

"Our killer has killed two times. The first kill was two months ago. Thanks to Reid, we know that his killing was based off 'The Granny Killer'. His next kill happened a week ago. It was more like the Zodiac Killer. Again, he leaves a note at each crime scene apologizing…."

Reid paid attention and made comments like a good genius. No one seemed to care anymore about his lateness. He was glad. He didn't want to have to explain himself.

The BAU team walked into the police station, earning glances from all the cops in the place. The head honcho met them in his office.

"Hello. My name is Ron Handel. I'm the chief here," the chief introduced himself to Hotch.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Aaron Hotchner. These are the SSA's David Rossi, Derek Morgan, Jennifer Jareau, and Emily Prentiss. And this is Dr. Spencer Reid."

Handel shook everyone's hand and invited them to take seats if they could find them. Handel's office was covered in papers, evidence boxes from past cases, and photos of the crime scenes.

"We've never had anything like this happen here. Usually it's petty crimes, like breaking and entering. We've never had a murder. We're a small town."

"Well, you're about to get a lot of media coverage," JJ said as she flipped through her copy of the case file. "These killers drew a lot of attention in their day. The media will be all over this."

"JJ is in charge of media control. She'll take care of everything," Hotch assured the chief.

"I'm going to go and warn the families." JJ left the room quickly, probably already thinking of how she should prepare the families.

"We need all the information you have on the victims as quickly as possible. It will be better if we get a profile on the suspect before the media gets here," Hotch pressed.

"Sure, sure." Handel shuffled through some papers on his desk and extracted a stack of papers about an inch thick.

"Reid." Hotch handed the stack to him. "Would you do the honors?"

Reid nodded. He started reading as he half listened to the conversation going on.

Handel eventually asked the question that always came up when Reid was reading. "Can you really read that fast?"

"Yes, actually," Reid said. He decided to forgo spouting out the statistics of how many words the human mind can process subconsciously. He was already half through the pile and so far there had been no similarities between the victims.

JJ poked her head into the room. "The press is here."


	2. Signs

Reid watched as JJ coolly handled the press conference. He couldn't imagine talking to that many people and keeping a clear head. Reid could barely handle talking in front of all the police to give them the profile.

Speaking of profile.

Reid tuned back into the conversation the rest of the team was having.

"He shows remorse for his killings. He says that he doesn't have a choice."

A copy of one of the notes was being projected onto a big whiteboard.

"If the Unsub's showing remorse, it could mean that he's mentally unstable," Reid commented. _He's going to kill them…_ Reid shook himself and came back to the present. No one had noticed. It had been years, everyone had probably tried to forget. Reid had tried, he just kept failing.

A police officer burst into the room without knocking. "We have a problem."

The BAU team, minus JJ, exited the vehicles and walked up to the quiet suburban house. Nothing was moved inside. It looked as perfect as any house. Nothing was out of place. The team filed up to the bedroom.

The victim, a thirty-two year old mother of two, was lying prone on the bed. It was drenched in blood.

The blood came from a hole in the woman's abdomen.

Reid swallowed. "It appears that the, uh, killer removed something."

"I found the note," Prentiss said. "It says the exact same thing as the others."

Hotch nodded. A coroner came in, looking queasy. Hotch said a few words to him and the man made an audible gulp. He cautiously walked up to the body as if he expected it to jump up and attack him.

"I'm guessing he deals with more of the funeral home type bodies," Morgan said to Reid as they stood by each other.

"Yeah." Reid's mind was already working on figuring out who the killer had copied this time.

"It's a kidney," the coroner announced as he quickly backed away from the body.

"Jack the Ripper," Reid said before anyone could ask. "He used to take out the kidneys of his victims."

"Right." Hotch scratched his head. "Reid, you and I'll go back to the station. Rossi, Morgan, Prentiss, you guys stay here and try to find something else."

"Gotcha," Prentiss said.

Back at the station, Reid was standing in front of a board covered in all of the photos from the first two crime scenes. It had taken forever to sort through the mess in Handel's office. He sipped on another coffee as he studied them.

Something was weird about them. Reid started over with the first crime scene.

"Got anything yet?" Hotch was going over the paperwork on the victims again.

"There's something, I just can't…" Reid stopped short. _Is it really that simple?_ Reid skipped to the next scene. _There_. "Hotch, you better come look at this."

Hotch walked over. "What is it?"

"In all of the crime scenes, or at least the first two, he leaves a clue as to who he's going to copy next. In, in this one, see, in the victim's hand? It's a horoscope. It uses the Zodiac signs. So that points to the Zodiac killer! Then in this crime scene." Reid turned to the second group of pictures. "Look, right here, a knife. It's stabbed into that table. A knife wasn't used in the killing! There were no knife wounds on the victim. So that points to Jack the Ripper."

"Good job. Now we just need to find out what the new clue is."

"We probably don't have much time. The killings are getting closer and closer together."

"I know."

* * *

_Why won't you go away? I've done as you asked._

_You haven't done enough. You're an embarrassment to the masters. You need to be better to make me leave._

_I'm trying. I've given in. You told me you'd go away. At least for a little while,_ he sobbed in his head.

_I will when you deserve the reprieve._

* * *

"Come on, Reid, there has to be something that we're just not seeing," Morgan said.

"Maybe there isn't anything," Reid started to doubt himself.

"No, you're right." Hotch was looking on the bedside table again.

They were back at the crime scene. The entire team was scouring the place. A few police officers were there, also. They had been looking for an hour. The others had been obvious, but they had known what the next kill was already.

"We could invite the husband to come and look the room over. He could tell us if anything is different," Prentiss offered.

Hotch hesitated. "Okay, Prentiss, you talk to him. Make sure he's okay with it. We'll cover the bed."

Prentiss nodded and walked out. Reid, Morgan, and Rossi covered the bed with a tarp to hide the blood. The body had already been taken to the morgue.

Prentiss poked her head in. "He's coming up the stairs. You guys ready?"

"The real question is if he's ready," Hotch said.

The husband was a good looking guy in his late thirties. His eyes were red and tears were still leaking out of the corners of his eyes. He was trying to keep a straight face, but as he walked into the room a sob escaped his lips.

_He'll probably never live in this house again, _Reid thought sadly.

"Hello, Mr. Stewart. My name's Aaron Hotchner, I'm with the FBI. I need you to look around this room and tell me anything that's out of place or wasn't here before. I need you to be specific. Anything at all can really help us."

The man nodded, swallowing another sob as he looked around what used to be his and his wife's bedroom, but was now like an alien planet. "Susie was home alone. I went to go pick up the kid's from school on my way home from work. I talked to her all the way there. I heard the door bell ring in through the phone. She said good bye so she could go answer it…"

The BAU team watched the man as he walked around the room. He mentioned some things that had been moved, but nothing that out of the ordinary. He paused at the window.

"Is something the matter?" Hotch pressed.

The man hesitated. "Um, yes. I don't recognize that wind chime. Susie might have just bought it. Sorry. Never mind. I'll keep looking."

"No, wait, you might have found something." Reid quickly walked over to the window and looked out. The wind chime was attached to a rod that looked like it had been recently installed. Reid turned his attention back to the wind chime. It wasn't really made of chimes. The articles dangling from the strings were shaped like curved rods. Reid scanned his eidetic memory, knowing that somewhere in his mind, there was a picture of something like this. He went back years, to a house in the country. Dozens of these creations were hanging off the porch. Gideon was there, and Prentiss. _They appear to be… human ribs…_ Reid snapped back to the present.

"Hotch, we have a problem."


	3. Profiling

**DISCLAIMER!!!!!**

**I do NOT own Criminal Minds or any of those characters..... Sadly**

* * *

"Why did the Unsub pick Frank? There are more well known killers out there," Morgan shook his head.

"Maybe it's just coincidence," Prentiss tried.

"I don't think so. It's too weird that he picked a killer that we've dealt with personally." Reid twirled the coin he was holding, making it disappear and reappear.

"So, you think he knew we were coming?" Rossi looked up from the paper he was reading.

"Yes." Reid nodded in affirmation. "The probability of him picking a killer that had that big of an impact on this team, like Frank, is very small."

"What? No exact number?" Morgan joked.

"Well, the U.S. has about 85% of the world's serial killers and between 20 and 50 active serial killers that are yet to be noticed so that means that-"

"We get it, Reid, next to no chance," Morgan chuckled.

Reid closed his mouth, giving a half smile and looking at the desk. He always seemed to miss it when they were asking a rhetorical question.

"In that case, the Unsub has to be in law enforcement or close to the police officers."

"Hotch, that's pretty much the entire town. This place is so small, I wouldn't be surprised if they were all brothers and sisters," Morgan shook his head.

"It also has to be someone that might have access to the case files or has been keeping track of us."

"I know just who to call," Morgan smiled as he dialed the phone.

"You've contacted the Goddess of Love and Knowledge, speak!" Garcia answered the phone.

"Hi, sweet lips."

"Is that my chocolate god of thunder?"

"It is indeed," Morgan smiled.

"In that case, you're wish is my demand."

"We need you to run background checks on all of the police officers in this town. We need to know everything that they've done and if any have ever had access to our case files. And we need any records you can get on the victims."

"Honey, I can get you their favorite color if you want me to." Keystrokes were audible in the background as Garcia got to work.

"Thanks," Morgan said as he cut the connection.

"In the mean time," Hotch interjected. "We need to run background checks again on the victims again and see if they were picked to go along with the killings. And we need to give a profile to the cops."

Five minutes later, the BAU team stood in front of the gathered police, preparing to give their profile.

"The killer we're looking for is most likely a white male in his late thirties to early forties," Hotch began. "He probably doesn't stand out much. He works in law enforcement or has a large interest in crimes. He would be at every police call, every break in. He would stand at the back, but he would be watching closely."

"The killer most likely is mentally unstable, even though he would hide it well. He might look tired. He's trying to recreate a perfect kill of past serial killers to live a fantasy or to satisfy a need he feels," Reid added.

"If you notice anyone at the crime scenes or at the press conferences that doesn't seem as upset as the rest of the crowd, or extremely interested in what's going on, that could be our man. Remember, it could be anyone and sometimes your gut feeling is the correct one," Morgan finished up.

The crowd of cops dissipated. Reid went back to the office with Hotch and Morgan. It wasn't long before Garcia called back.

"You got what I need, baby girl?"

"Yes, my prince. I'm faxing it to you right now."

"Thanks, baby girl."

"You're welcome, of course this means you owe me."

Morgan laughed as he hung up the phone.

"Hotch, shouldn't we be looking for the next victim?" Prentiss questioned.

Hotch rubbed a hand over his face. "Unfortunately, we have no idea how to find the victim. It could be anyone. As of right now, it looks like the killer only copies the kills, he doesn't copy the types of victims. Our only hope is to catch this guy before he decides to kill again."

"If he knew we were coming and picked a killer that we know to copy, then he's most likely going to kill very soon," Reid commented.

"Which is why we have to get started on the records of these policemen right away." Right on cue, the fax machine fired up and spit out a giant stack of documents. Hotch picked it up and passed it out to the rest of the team. Reid, of course, got the biggest stack.

"Don't dismiss anything," Hotch said, even though he was preaching to the choir.

It was completely silent in the room as everyone read their files. Morgan reclined with his feet propped on another chair. Prentiss relaxed, resting her head on her hand. Rossi and Hotch both sat bent over the table. Reid drank a cup of copy as he studied his. Every file that had the least bit of promise was pulled out and placed on the table in a separate pile.

Hotch knew his team well; all of them finished reading at about the same time.

"What did you guys find?"

"A couple of DUI's…" Morgan offered.

"I got a robbery charge, from a guy when he was twelve…" Prentiss shrugged.

"Reid, what do you have?" Hotch asked.

"I found a drug charge," Reid answered. It had been years, but he still got worried glances when he mentioned drugs. Today was no exception. It probably didn't help that he had looked horrible the last few days.

"Who was that?" Everyone knew that drugs could be related to mental stability in cases like this.

"A Sergeant Blaine," Reid answered without even glancing at the paper.

"Okay, let's find him an-"

"Agents, there's been another murder."

The BAU looked at each other. This did not fit their earlier profile. The killer had gone from waiting a week between victims to only a few hours.

"Let's move."

* * *

**Hi! MyDarkAngel710 Here!**

**I just wanted to say thank you for the reviews!! It's my first FanFic and I'm super excited. As an answer to a question by I-Luv-To-Write-Law-And-Order: Yes, I plan to have a killer that effects everyone. I started with Frank because he's one of the worst ones and Gideon isn't there anymore. I thought it would be a nice intro to the killer.**

**Please Keep Reading and Reviewing!!**

**~ MyDarkAngel710**


	4. Frank

**DISCLAIMER:**

**ring...ring....**

**Reid: Hello?**

**Me: Hi, Spencer Reid?**

**Reid: Yes, may I ask whose calling?**

**Me: My name is MyDarkAngel710 and I would like to own you.**

**Reid: ...What?**

**Me: I would like to own you. Is that ok?**

**Reid: Uh, I gotta go.**

***click***

**I don't own Criminal Minds or the characters.**

* * *

"_Frank is a textbook psychopath. He is incapable of feeling any empathy towards others, feeling guilt or remorse, and claims no responsibility for his actions."_

* * *

The BAU carefully entered the house. JJ had opted to stay at the station. She didn't want to see.

Inside, everything looked normal. Nothing was disturbed.

_There wouldn't have been a struggle if the killer had used ketamine,_ Reid thought to himself as he followed Hotch and Morgan further into the house.

Police officers were taking pictures. A picture of birds hung on the walls. Reid paused when he saw it. He clenched his jaw at the memory of another house with pictures of birds, at another time, with another victim. But with the same type of killing.

They had reached the door. One officer hurried out of the room, hand over his mouth. Reid's pulse quickened. He could hear Prentiss take a deep breath as Hotch opened the door all the way.

Only two officers seemed to have been able to stomach the scene before them. Blood spray covered the walls, the headboard, the ceiling, and everything else in the room. The victim, Shelley Riis, was lying on the bed. No restraints were apparent. Her body was ripped open in the abdomen and chest cavities.

"Oh my…" Rossi said.

_He wasn't here. He came after Gideon left..._ Reid though sadly. He wished that Gideon was here now.

"What happened to her?" Rossi continued.

"Vivisection," Hotch stated. His face was as stoic as ever. No emotion was betrayed.

Prentiss's eyes were shut and she breathed deep in an attempt to keep her composure.

Morgan was looking everywhere but at the bed.

Reid shivered. "Frank used ketamine to paralyze his victims so he could vivisect them."

"Is that what happened to…" Rossi asked, not wanting to say names.

"Yes, that's what happened to Sarah," Hotch may have grimaced a little, but it was hard to tell.

"Let's get this over with," Morgan said suddenly. "I know none of us want to live or relive this." He started to look around.

There was no way they could ask a family member to come into this room, no matter how much easier it would be. _We've already learned what seeing this can do to someone close to the victim,_ Reid thought to himself. He watched the rest of the team as they looked for something pointing to another killer. Morgan and Prentiss were obviously avoiding the end of the room with the bed. Rossi kept glancing at it, probably wondering who could do such a thing and not believing that it had actually happened. Hotch was the only one who was strong enough to go close to the body. He was looking at the bedside table. He ignored the body, even though it was in close proximity.

Reid swallowed hard as he tried to find the courage to help Hotch. Everywhere else in the room was covered. Reid felt that he should help. _No_, Reid corrected himself. _I _need_ to help him, to help myself._ Reid squared his shoulders and walked over to the other side of the bed. He examined the bloodstained side table for anything that might stand out. A picture frame on the stand showed a happy Shelley Riis with a young man in a wedding photo. The couple smiled happily as they stared out of the frame at him.

A streak of blood cut through the middle of the photo.

Reid shook himself and continued looking. He glanced in the trashcan. A bloody towel was at the bottom. Reid didn't need to open it to know what was wrapped inside. He swallowed and quickly turned away. His eye was caught by a glint of something in the victim's hand. His mind flashed back to the last murder Frank ever committed. It had also been a young woman and she had also been clutching something in her hand.

Reid moved closer to the hand holding the shiny object. He squinted and bent closer. It was gold and bejeweled. Reid slipped on his purple gloves. He hesitated before he carefully pulled open the girl's hand. The object was a cross. Its chain clinked as Reid held it up. He looked at it perplexed as he tried to place it.

"What did you find?" Hotch asked walking over. This immediately got the rest of the team's attention.

"It's some kind of cross," Reid said as he held it up. His brow was still furrowed as he considered the object. He turned it over.

"What does a cross have to do with anything?" Morgan asked.

"Made in Georgetown, Washington," Reid read the back.

"Georgetown?" Prentiss repeated.

"Yes," Reid nodded.

"Prentiss, isn't that were Johnny lives."

"Yeah," Prentiss whispered. "He's going to copy Paul Silvano next, isn't he?"

"It seems like it," Rossi said as he shook his head. "How does this guy know?"

"Come on, guys, let's talk about this someplace more private." Hotch turned to leave and the other's followed.

* * *

_I will be prepared._

_Good… only a few more and it will be over._

* * *

"If this guy is going to perform an exorcism, then he needs to be a priest," Morgan pointed out.

"Garcia?"

"Garcia," Morgan agreed as he dialed.

"Garcia here," she answered, obviously subdued.

"What, no witty comment?" Morgan asked.

"Why didn't you tell me that this guy was copying killers like Frank?"

"It didn't come up."

"Right," Garcia sighed through the phone. "You still could have told me."

"Do you forgive me enough to do me a favor?"

"Yes, my dove, give it to me."

"We need to know of all the people in this town that are or have been priests," Reid jumped in.

"I'll send it to you as soon as I can. Are you going to tell me who he's copying now?"

There was silence for a little while.

"Guys?" Garcia's voice questioned.

"It's Paul Silvano," Prentiss finally answered.

"Oh…" Garcia faltered. "I'll have the info to you in a few minutes."

"Alright, it's been a long day. Let's get some sleep," Hotch dismissed everyone.

As they all filed out of the room, Prentiss held back. Reid stalled until everyone else had left.

"Emily, are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Prentiss half-smiled.

Reid gave her a comforting look and nodded as he left.

It was dark outside. Reid was glad the hotel was only across the street. He was already falling asleep as he walked. He managed to get into his room before he collapsed on the bed. He was asleep before he could turn out the light.

* * *

**Hi!**

**I just wanted to say thanks again for the reviews! I plan to write a chapter a day if I can, but we'll see.**

**~MyDarkAngel710**


	5. Victims

**DISCLAIMER!!**

**Me: (knocking at a door)**

**Morgan: (opens door) Can I help you?**

**Me: Yes, my name is MyDarkAngel710 and I am selling Gal Scout cookies.**

**Morgan: Don't you mean Girl Scout cookies?**

**Me: No, Gal Scout. They are a newly created organization. We sell homemade cookies in return for you simply signing a contract.**

**Morgan: (crosses arms) And what, exactly, does this contract state?**

**Me: You simply say that I own all the rights to you and the rest of the BAU team.**

**Morgan: (shakes head and closes door)**

**Me: Don't you want to at least try some free cookie samples?**

**...**

**Me: Dang it...**

**I don't own Criminal Minds**

* * *

"When one creates phantoms for oneself, one puts vampires into the world, and one must nourish these nourish these children of a voluntary nightmare with one's blood, one's life, one's intelligence, and one's reason, without ever satisfying them."~ Eliphas Levi

* * *

Reid ran through the parking garage. He led the girl toward the exit into the mall. She had barely escaped from the unsub and now he was chasing them down. The rest of the BAU was on their way, but Reid couldn't wait. He dragged the panting girl into the mall. It was empty.

"Go that way," he told her. "I'll distract him."

The girl nodded and ran off in one direction. Reid watched until she had safely founded the corner, then he took off in the other direction. He made as much noise as he could, hoping to draw the killer after him. He had lost his gun earlier, so his only hope was to run.

He heard the unsub coming after him. _It's working_, he smiled to himself as he ran down the hall past all of the closed stores. He noticed an arcade that had just opened. _A phone_. He went faster.

A teen stood at the register.

"I need to use your phone," Reid gasped.

"What?" the teen looked at Reid like he was insane.

"Your phone! I need to use it!"

"Dude, chill." The teen reached below the desk.

"Hurry! He's going to kill us!"

This radical statement only earned Reid another _You're crazy look_.

Footsteps sounded right out in the hallway.

"Just call the cops!" Reid said as he spun around to run away again.

He was too late.

The killer was in the arcade. Before Reid could react, the killer ran at him and stabbed Reid in the arm with a needle. Reid pulled away and tried to run. He wasn't quick enough. The unsub grabbed his arm again and jabbed the syringe back into Reid's forearm, breaking off the needle as Reid again yanked his arm away.

Reid stumbled, but got away this time. He somehow made his way to a bathroom. He yanked up his sleeve. Spidery blue veins were snaking their way up his arm as he watched in horror.

_I've been poisoned_. As the thought entered his head, Reid's vision began to blur. He dropped to all fours and coughed. He tried to keep consciousness, but it kept slipping away from him. Just as he was about to totally black out, Morgan and Hotch rushed in.

"Don't worry, kid, we're going to get you help," Morgan said as he crouched down next to Reid.

Reid gasped for breathe. _You're too late,_ he thought in vain. _You're too late…_

* * *

Reid sat straight up in bed. He sucked in air as he tried to calm down. His head hurt like no other, and it wasn't helping that Morgan was banging on the door.

"Reid! You awake? Reid?! Answer me or I'm comin in!"

"I'm awake," Reid called as he scrambled to open the door.

He caught Morgan in mid-knock.

"Did you sleep in your clothes?" Morgan asked as he looked Reid over.

"I guess I did." Reid looked at his wrinkled clothes.

"Reid, Reid, Reid. What am I going to do with you? Go on, get dressed. I'll get you a coffee. You look like you need it." Morgan gave Reid another worried look.

"Thanks, Morgan," Reid tried to smile as he closed the door.

Reid leaned against the door and closed his eyes. He was more tired than he had been yesterday. He forced himself to move. To shower, to get dressed, to face life.

* * *

Reid yawned again as he left his room. He knew he had dark circles under his eyes, but he couldn't do anything about it. He had always had some type of nightmare, but they hadn't been this bad for a while. He felt like he couldn't get any sleep anymore. He knew that he wasn't able to concentrate like he should be able to. He could only imagine what everyone else was thinking about him.

Prentiss and JJ were in the lobby. They both took double takes of him. He smiled and added a little bounce to his step to look a little happier. He couldn't tell if it really worked. Morgan walked in right after Reid's entrance.

"Here ya go. Nice and hot," he said as he handed Reid one of the coffees he carried.

"Thanks." Reid sipped in enthusiastically as the team left for the police department.

* * *

Hotch and Rossi were already hard at work. Garcia had sent over Silvano's case file.

Hotch glanced up as they entered. "If you wouldn't mind, you could start looking through the background checks Garcia sent over."

Reid, Morgan, and JJ all picked up a stack of papers. Prentiss seemed to hesitate, but it was so quick that Reid couldn't be sure.

"Garcia also sent over records of the last purchases they made with credit cards. There could be something drug related that they bought for bringing on the aneurisms." Hotch flipped another stack of papers onto the table.

It didn't take long for it to become apparent that this wasn't working.

"Nobody here fits the profile," Morgan said as he threw his last file on the table. "All the priests form this area are old and don't have enough strength to do a lot of the things done to the victims."

"Plus, none of the priests ever were connected with the law enforcement," Reid added as he shook his head.

"We have to find him," Prentiss said as she picked up Morgan's discarded papers and started going through them.

"What if the unsub was just visiting here?" Rossi asked. "We've had plenty of cases where the killer moved in or just visited a place in order to find victims. If that's the case, then we wouldn't have records of him in this town."

"Good point," Hotch admitted as brought a hand to his forehead. "I've already ordered police to go around to every house to check on the home owners." He sighed. "I don't know what we're going to do about this."

"We're going to do what we always do," Rossi said. "We're going to catch this guy."

"Unfortunately, we have no idea of _how_ to find him," Reid pointed out. "We have the profiles of the original killers but they have nothing in common with one another. The first victim was a sixty-two year old grandma, like the victim of the original killer. The Zodiac killer never seemed to have a specific type of victim, so we can't pinpoint anything. Garcia was able to find out that the Jack the Ripper victim had actually worked as a prostitute as a teenager, even though she had given it up a few years ago," Reid said as he flipped through some paper, looking for the history of the Frank killing victim. "Shelley Riis didn't have much connecting her to the kill. She was recently married, she never did anything to stand out, she-" Reid froze midsentence. He stared at the word on the paper, willing it to change.

"Reid?" Hotch looked up from his paper. Everyone else was staring at him with a worried expression.

Reid cleared his throat and looked up at his friend's faces. "Shelley Riis-" Reid swallowed. "Shelley Riis used to be Shelly Gideon."

* * *

**Hi all!**

**I added quotes at the beginning because that's what they do in episodes, but I'm not going to end with a quote until the final chapter. I hope you like the new chapter!**

**~MyDarkAngel710**


	6. Realizations

**DISCLAIMER!!!!**

**(Phone Ringing)**

**Me: (crossing fingers) Please pick up, please pick up...**

**(Phone click)**

**Hoth: Hello?**

**Me: YES!!**

**Hotch:...**

**Me: Um, I mean, uh...**

**Hotch: Are you DarkAngel?**

**Me: Maybe...**

**Hotch: (sighs)**

**(Phone clicks)**

**Me: Dang it! (Wallows in self-pity)**

**I don't own Criminal Minds...**

* * *

"For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else."~Ralph Waldo Emerson

* * *

No one said anything for a long while after Reid's revelation. Morgan was moving his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but nothing came out. Hotch had the file and was staring at it like Reid had. Prentiss was looking at everyone else in shock. JJ was pale. Rossi shook his head as he stared at the table.

"I guess this means that we have an idea of what the next victim will be," Prentiss managed to say.

"Yeah," Rossi agreed.

Hotch shifted in his chair. He reached for the phone and quickly dialed.

"You've reached the Office of Higher Knowledge, how may I help you underlings," Garcia's voice emitted from the speaker phone.

"Garcia, could you run a check to find people who took a religious pilgrimage within a hundred mile radius of here?" Hotch asked.

"Of course, my liege. Consider is done." Garcia clicked off the phone.

"I'll go talk to the hotel manager and see if anyone checked in for a long stay," Morgan said as he got up.

"Ask Handel if he could find out if any houses were rented or recently bought on your way out," Hotch called after Morgan.

"I can't help feeling that we're missing something," Rossi said, shaking his head. He picked up a paper stack and started going through it.

"We've been through everything that we have," Hotch said.

"Then maybe it's something we don't have," Reid said as he grabbed the phone and dialed. "Why didn't I think of this earlier..."

"A hundred miles is a lot of ground to cover, I'm not that fast," Garcia said.

"Actually, I was calling to ask for another favor."

"You want an addition to your order?" Reid could hear Garcia's fingers flying in the background.

"I need you to run a search on all FBI agents that have a family history of mental illnesses and cross reference that with any agents that were dismissed or retired recently." _Did you know that schizophrenia is genetically passed?_

There was a slight pause on Garcia's end of the line. "Okay, your order has been processed. I will call you cool cats back when I have everything done." She hung up the phone.

The rest of the team looked at Reid with a question written all over their faces.

"In the notes he leaves, the unsub says that he has no choice. He might feel forced by something that happened in his life, but it could also be that he is being told to by something in his mind. He could think that killing the victims will bring him peace. It's rare that someone schizophrenic is violent to others. Usually they're only violent toward themselves. This person could be thinking that someone's out to get him or plotting against him and the only thing that could save him is to kill people and cover his tracks by copying the murders of others. He probably doesn't like to kill; he believes it is a necessity," Reid explained.

Hotch nodded. "Good thinking, Reid."

Reid gave one of his half-smiles; he wasn't in a real celebrating mood. He drained the rest of his coffee.

* * *

_What do you want?!?_

_I want you to be safe._

_Then let me be._

_They're still out there. They going to find you. You have to make them leave you alone._

_They're only coming after me because of what you told me to do!_

_They were always coming after you. They were watching, ever since you went in there, they started watching you. They were biding their time, waiting for you to mess up. I saved you by making you go away._

_I don't believe you!_

_Yes, you do. I know you do._

_No…no…_

_It's time._

* * *

Reid walked back into the police station an hour later with his latest cup of coffee. During the time they had been waiting for Garcia to call back, they had interviewed all of the people who rented out houses and the owner of the only hotel in the town. Prentiss and JJ were finishing up with the last house. Morgan, Hotch and Rossi were in the conference room already.

Reid hesitated taking off his sunglasses when he got inside. He'd been slowly getting a migraine the entire day, and it had finally reached a climax. The fluorescent lights were doing nothing for him. His only hope seemed to rest in a cup of caffeine.

"Reid, man, you look like crap."

"Thanks, Morgan," Reid said sarcastically as he rubbed his temples with one hand.

The phone rang right next to Reid's ear, causing him to cringe.

"Talk to me, Garcia," Morgan quickly answered the phone.

"Well, it turns out that there are five people within a close proximity to you guys that have recently gone on a pilgrimage. None are located in that town, of course, but I went ahead and sent their addresses to Hotch's phone. Reid, I was able to find five people who matched your description. Two of them had worked for the FBI for a couple of months, one had been working there a year, and the other two had been working there for quite a number of years. I'm faxing their information over for you."

"Thanks, Garcia." Morgan reached for the end call button.

"Do me a favor and find this guy fast," Garcia said just before the call was ended.

Reid closed his eyes and rubbed his temples as the fax machine kicked on. It was agony for the next thirty seconds.

"I'm going to go make some calls and to these place," Hotch excused himself as he looked as his phone.

"I'll go talk to Handel." Rossi got up and left the room.

Morgan and Reid sat in silence for a few minutes. Reid sipped his coffee, enjoying the silence. The caffeine helped a little bit, but not nearly enough.

"You okay?" Morgan asked again.

"Just a migraine." Reid leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes.

"Do you need some meds?"

"No," Reid answered, maybe a little quickly.

"You look horrible. You've looked horrible for weeks. Tell me what's up."

"I've just been having some trouble sleeping." Reid didn't move or open his eyes, but he could feel Morgan's gaze.

"Reid, I'm worried about you, man."

"I'll be fine, Morgan. Don't worry. We should be worried about Prentiss."

Morgan considered him a moment. "Yeah, you're right. She's been really quiet since we found out about the next planned murder."

Reid was about to say something when Hotch came back in.

"I've called the officers in the towns and they're going to check on the potential victims," he said as he sat down. He glanced at Reid, then at Morgan. Morgan shrugged.

Reid was getting a little annoyed, but he knew that if he said something they would know something was wrong. He pretended to be ignorant and started examining the lists Garcia sent over. There were two sets of files. One was a list of all current and former agents with mental illness in the family and the other contained the files off the five agents mentioned earlier. Without really thinking about it, Reid looked through the list down to his name. He showed no emotion as he placed the list aside and started reading through the five files. The two that had worked for the FBI for years had retired at ages of fifty and sixty from desk jobs. Reid went ahead and mentally crossed them off the list. The other three were all fair game. Two left of their own accord, and one was dismissed for shooting an unarmed subject. Reid started to mention this when Hotch got a phone call.

"Agent Hotchner… okay… we'll be right there." Hotch snapped the phone shut and ran a hand over his face. "We're too late."

* * *

**Soooo... My sister, who is a fellow fan even though I think she's too young to be watching murder shows, read my story. She says I'm not writing fast enough. I told her to stop badgering or I wouldn't write anymore for a week. That made her shut-up. I thought it was funny.**

**~MyDarkAngel710**


	7. Effect

**DISCLAIMER:**

**I was going to make a deal with the devil to own Criminal Minds, but the deal fell through when he looked at my credit report. If only I'd gone to "f-r-e-e that spells free credit report .com baby"!**

**I don't own any Criminal Minds (Or free credit report)**

* * *

"If you guys hadn't called, we probably wouldn't have found this guy for days," the officer said as she led the BAU up to the house. "Mr. Blake was a hermit. He didn't have any friends or family that we know of. No one would have checked on him, and the only reason we did is because you gave us his name. When we came to check in, the door was ajar and we found him in the bedroom. We called a doctor and he said it looked like he had died of a heart attack. It's a good thing you gave us the details of the killer, or we would have just written it off." She opened the door and made way for the team.

Reid removed his sunglasses and surveyed the room.. Unlike the Silvano killings, there appeared to have been a struggle. Furniture was overturned and objects were laying on the floor as if they had been thrown in defense. The TV was still on and blaring some game show. A TV dinner sat on the coffee table.

"The dinner was still warm when we arrived. We must have just missed the guy," the officer sighed as she shook her head.

She led them back to the bed room. Roger Blake lay on his bed. A trickle of blood ran from his nose, like the Silvano victims. Reid bent down and looked under the bed. The scuff marks were there.

"I've got to go take care of some paper work. Take as much time as you need." The officer nodded her head in a farewell and left.

"It's the same as one of Silvano's murders besides the struggle. I'm guessing this guy doesn't have a helping hand," Morgan commented.

"But he was strong enough to subdue Roger Blake." Hotch motioned to the sixty-two year old man lying on the bed. He may have been old, but he didn't look weak.

"Let's find the next clue and get out of here. Who knows how much time we have until the next victim appears," Rossi said as he began his search.

Reid looked over and saw Prentiss still standing in the doorway. She was looking a little sick. "Emily, would you and JJ mind looking in the living room? If there was a struggle, the unsub might have left something there," he said.

She nodded, sending him a thank you with her eyes.

Reid turned back to the task at hand. He started looking near the door. He hadn't been looking long when Rossi said he found something. He held up a book with a baseball hat attached to it.

"It's my book," Rossi said with a pained look on his face. "I don't think we need to worry about it. He's already copying killers."

"What about the hat?" Hotch asked.

"It's a kid's baseball cap." Rossi detached it from the book and showed them.

"Oh, man," Morgan said as he crossed his arms and looked at the ceiling. "Jeffery Charles."

Rossi looked at Morgan questioningly.

"He was a twelve year old kid on one of our cases," Morgan said.

"Was he killed?"

"Actually, he was the killer. He would lead elementary school kids into the woods then bludgeon them to death with a baseball bat," Reid answered.

"I'll tell the police to call the local schools," Hotch said as he exited the room.

"This unsub is copying all of the killers that have affected us personally in some way. Gideon, if he was here, with Frank. Prentiss with Silvano."

"Me with Jeffery," Morgan admitted.

"He's doing fine just being a copycat for me." Rossi looked back at his book, probably remembering Zoe.

"We need to find this guy before he can hurt a kid," Morgan asserted.

"Unfortunately, we have no idea which school district he's going to strike in. It could be in a different town," Reid mentioned.

Morgan looked at his watch. "Most schools around here are getting off in twenty minutes. If this guy is going to copy Jeffery, he needs to pick a school near some woods, and he's going to need to get a kid right after school."

"We could split up," Rossi offered. "I'm sure Hotch and the girls would be up for that if we had a chance of saving a kid."

Reid agreed and it didn't take much to convince the others. They found three elementary schools within reasonable distance and in close proximity to woods, and quickly went on their ways. JJ and Prentiss to the closest, Reid and Hotch to the farthest, and Morgan and Rossi to the last one.

* * *

_Now?_

_No, you have to wait for the most opportune moments._

_Why kids?_

_You need to get into their heads. If you can control them, you can make them leave you alone. You can escape from them._

_I don't know about thi-_

_There! That one. She's perfect._

* * *

Reid watched intently as the children poured out of the building. None of them were going off by themselves. There were a couple of small walking groups, but the majority were picked up by parents or school buses.

"Do you see anything?" Hotch asked.

"No, you?"

"No. I think we're in the wrong place."

They waited until the last child had left, then called Morgan.

"Did you guys see anything?" Hotch questioned.

"No," Morgan said through the speaker phone. "Have you guys heard from JJ and Prentiss?"

"Not yet," Hotch said just as his phone beeped with an incoming call. "I'll call you back in a minute. I have another call."

"Okay." Morgan disconnected his line and Hotch pressed a button on his phone, revealing JJ's voice.

"-ep trying, Prentiss. I called the paramedics. They're on their way."

"JJ? What's wrong?" Hotch was already starting the car.

"He got one. A little girl. Prentiss and I heard screaming from the woods and we followed it. It's just like the Jeffery case. He used a baseball bat. I think we're too late." JJ's voice cracked at the end of the sentence.

"We're on our way, JJ. I'll call Morgan. Be careful. If it just happened the unsub could still be nearby." Hotch didn't wait for a reply before hanging up and speed dialing Morgan. "Reid, could you handle this call? I don't feel like driving and talking."

Reid gladly took the phone, flipping off the speaker. He didn't like Hotch driving like this with one hand, either. "Morgan, JJ and Prentiss found a girl… yeah… We'll meet you there." Reid shut the phone and clutched his bag as Hotch careened around another corner. _I hope we get there in time._

**

* * *

**

**What's going to happen?!?! Is the girl going to die? Will JJ and Prentiss be attacked? Who is this copycat killer going to copy next? And who will it effect? I can't wait to find out! Believe me, I'll probably be as surprised as you're going to be! ;)**


	8. Penelope

**DISCLAIMER!**

**_IF_ I owned Criminal Minds, I would, this very minute, be having dinner with the cast. That isn't happening right now, so apparently...**

**I don't own Criminal Minds.**

* * *

Reid watched the body of the little girl be placed in the body bag and from there to the ambulance. He shook his head and turned back to the rest of the team. JJ was on the phone, probably checking on her son. Prentiss was watching the ambulance; blood was spattered on her clothes from when she had tried to give the girl CPR.

"We were so close," Morgan said, stepping up to Reid. "I feel like we could have stopped this." He shook his head.

"Let's go find try and find something at the crime scene," Reid said, trying to draw Morgan's mind away from those dark thoughts.

"Why is it kids?" Morgan asked as they made their way through the woods. "They're innocent. Especially these little ones."

"I think that's why their attacked. The unsubs who do things like this could be trying to regain some of the innocence for themselves. They aren't right, of course, but you've seen how the mind can twist things. However, in the original Jeffery case, if I recall correctly, he was mad at his peers for having a real family. His mom left, and that was his trigger."

"Then what's this guy's trigger?"

"If he was dismissed from the FBI like I think, that could be the trigger. There could have been a death in his own life recently, or if he doesn't have mental stability, it could have surfaced recently, causing him to start this," Reid answered as he ducked under a branch.

They had reached the scene of the crime. Rossi and Hotch were already there looking around with some officers. Reid and Morgan walked up to join the search.

"We can't even find a characteristic note from this guy," Rossi said as he bent down to search a pile of leaves.

"Did you check the girl?" Reid asked as he searched around a tree.

"Yes, right before she was taken away," Hotch assured.

"Maybe we're not thinking outside the box enough," Morgan said as he squinted up at the top of a tree. "What's that?" he asked pointing.

Reid, Hotch, and Rossi all paused as they looked up to the top of the tree. Just barely visible through the leaves was a balloon. Without waiting for anyone else to take the initiative, Morgan grabbed the lowest branch and swung up on it.

"Just be careful," Hotch called. "I want to fill out the paper work."

Morgan waved a hand and continued climbing. He made pretty good time. He was noticeably slower as he got higher up with the skinnier branches. He didn't go any higher than he had to. Morgan reached up and snagged the balloon. Morgan looked at the balloon he was holding, then at the way down, then back at the balloon. Seeming to come to a decision, he took out his gun and tied the end of the balloon to the handle. He let go and the balloon came flying to the bottom.

Hotch reached out and caught it just before the gun touched the ground.

"Some on down," Rossi yelled up. "We got it."

Morgan saluted and started his decent.

Reid and Hotch were already examining the balloon. Without a word, they had a discussion with their eyes. Reid nodded and Hotch sighed, knowing Reid was right. They watched Morgan come the rest of the way down, and then confronted him.

"Don't freak out," Reid began.

"Freak out about what?" Morgan looked to Rossi, who shrugged his own confusion.

"It's not going to happen," Hotch continued.

"What's not going to happen?" Morgan was getting annoyed, now.

Hotch turned the balloon so that the writing on it Morgan had missed earlier was visible.

_P.G._

"P.G.?" Morgan asked in confusion. Then it dawned on him. "Oh, no. Not her."

Hotch's face didn't change. Reid looked at the ground and then back at Morgan.

Morgan was already dialing the phone.

"Being of Impossibilities, how can I help?"

"Garcia, don't leave that office. Don't look out the window. Don't talk to anyone."

"Morgan? What's wrong?"

Morgan ran a hand over his eyes. "He's copying Battle."

"Battle?" Garcia's voice cracked at the last syllable.

"I need you to be careful, baby girl. I'm coming back to look out for you," Morgan asked Hotch at the same time he told Garcia. Luckily, he got a nod of approval. "I'll be there soon. Do. Not. Move."

"Okay," Reid Garcia whisper. He could practically see her locking the door as the call was disconnected. He shivered, reliving that night in the hospital waiting to hear if… He shook himself said good-bye to Morgan as he took off.

"Where's Morgan going?" JJ asked as she and Prentiss walked up.

"We found out that the unsub is planning on copying Jason Battle."

JJ and Prentiss both looked shocked.

"Morgan is going back to Quantico to watch over her. Hopefully the killer will either give up on this, or we'll catch him when he tries to copy Battle," Hotch explained.

_No one's saying what his copy will be_, Reid realized. It was amazing how one case could affect them all like this.

"Did you find the note?" Prentiss asked.

"No," Hotch started, but Reid quickly interrupted.

"I believe it's in the balloon." For emphasis, Reid shook the object. There was a small sound as something moved around inside.

Rossi took out a pen and Reid passed the balloon over. Reid winced at the loud sound of the popping balloon. As he thought, a small piece of paper had been inside. Prentiss picked it up and handed it to Hotch. Reid read it over Hotch's shoulder.

"_You brought this on yourself. You shouldn't have been watching me!_

_I'm sorry to those who are innocent for what I have done. I didn't have a choice._

_Please forgive me."_

"It's different. Something's changed. The end is the same, but the unsub's added two lines to the beginning." Hotch shook his head as he tried to understand this.

"That's not the only thing that seems weird. I wasn't going to say anything, but doesn't it seem a bit too obvious for him to go directly after Garcia? In all the other murders, he's left hints, but he's never exactly stated his victim. Something's not right." Reid's mind was working on overdrive. _It's too obvious. It has to be someone on the team. He's been true to sticking within the general groups…_

Reid's head snapped up. His eyes were wide.

"Reid?" Hotch asked, but Reid wasn't listening as he dialed his phone.

_Please pick up, please pick up…_

"Morgan."

"Morgan! Don't go to the jet. He's after you!"

"Reid? What are you talking about? I just got to the jet. What do you mean he's after me?"

Reid shook his head in annoyance. "I'll explain everything later; you just need to trust me. Don't get on that jet!"

"Okay! Okay! I'm turning around. You owe me a bi-" Morgan's voice cut off as a gunshot sounded.

"Morgan?" Reid asked as he looked at his phone, searching for answers. "Morgan?!?!"

* * *

**I feel kinda evil right now.... oh well. It will pass... right?**

**Read and Review!!**

**~MyDarkAngel710**


	9. Unknown

**DISCLAIMER!!**

**Me: HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Now you see the extent of my power of persuasion!!**

**Morgan: I got shot!?!**

**Me: (grins evilly) Yes!**

**Morgan: I don't die.. right?**

**Me: I don't know.... you know what I want... only say the word and I will make all this go away....**

**I DON'T OWN CRIMINAL MINDS.... yet ;)**

* * *

_"A friend is someone who, upon seeing another friend in immense pain, would rather be the one experiencing the pain than to have to watch their friend suffer." ~Unknown_

* * *

Reid and the rest of the team, minus Morgan, ran through the woods back to the cars. Hotch was calling an ambulance and police back up to the airport. Reid was still yelling into the phone, praying that Morgan would pick up.

Hotch jumped into the front seat and put it in drive as Reid dived into the backseat. Hotch floored it, and Reid held on for dear life. He kept the phone glued to his ear, trying to hear something, anything. After a few more painful minutes, he heard something on the other end. Breathing?

"Morgan?" Reid asked hopefully.

The call disconnected as an answer.

Reid stared at the phone and tried to decide exactly what had happened.

"We're here." Hotch was out of the car with his gun drawn before he finished his sentence.

Reid followed closely behind, his gun also out and ready.

They were directly on the airfield. _Just around the corner is the jet,_ Reid thought as he hurried after Hotch. He could hear JJ, Prentiss, and Rossi pull up. Cops could be heard off in the distance, their sirens blaring. Neither Reid nor Hotch slowed or looked back at the others.

They rounded the hangar. Morgan's car was visible. Reid wanted to run over, but Hotch motioned to stay back a bit. They had no idea where the unsub was. It wouldn't help Morgan if they got shot.

As soon as Hotch nodded, Reid was dashing across the pavement. He could make out a form slumped over the steering wheel. He could tell it was Morgan, even through the tinted windows. Reid ran over to the passenger side door and flung it open. There was blood on the seat, flowing down Morgan's arm.

Reid called for Hotch as he reached out a hand. He tried to find Morgan's pulse. There. Reid released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Retracting his fingers, Reid looked over at Hotch and nodded. JJ, Prentiss, and Rossi were rounding the corner. Hotch waved at them, and JJ immediately turned around, probably to tell the police it was okay. She turned, and paramedics were visible behind her.

"Reid." Hotch was next to the car now. "Reid, we need to move."

"What are you talking about?" Reid asked, confused. "We need to stay with him. We-"

"Reid, we need to get out of here."

Reid finally looked at Hotch. Then at where he was looking. There was something blinking in the backseat. "Hotch," Reid squeaked. "Is that what I think it is?"

"We _need_ to move."

Hotch turned and yelled at everyone to stay back. Reid unbuckled Morgan and ran to the other side of the car. Hotch was close behind.

"Make sure it's safe enough to move him," Hotch cautioned.

"How much time do we have?"

"Forty seconds."

"Let's go." Hotch and Reid carefully lifted Morgan from the car. Morgan groaned slightly, which Reid took as a good sign.

"Thirty seconds," Hotch commented.

Together, Reid and Hotch dragged Morgan over to the hangar. JJ, Prentiss, and Rossi were waiting.

"Faster!" Hotch said.

They all had barely made it around the hangar when the bomb exploded. The shockwaves sent debris sailing all around them. A rock hit Reid in the leg. The sound was deafening. For a few seconds, Reid couldn't hear anything but ringing.

Disoriented, Reid looked around. Morgan was laying next to him. JJ and Prentiss were on the other side of Morgan. Rossi and Hotch were against the hangar. Reid shook his head and was able to focus on the paramedics that were rushing over.

"Here," Reid coughed. "Morgan needs you the most." He struggled to his elbows.

The medics knelt at Morgan's side. Reid watched as they moved him to a stretcher. Police had made their way over and were checking on JJ and Prentiss. Reid dragged himself over so he could lean against the hangar. Hotch and Rossi were just waking up. One of the paramedics came to check on them.

"We're fine," Hotch said. "How's he?"

"We won't know for sure until we get him to the hospital," the medic vaguely answered.

"I'm going," Reid said without hesitation.

The medic looked at him skeptically.

"We all are going to go to the hospital, so you might as well take one of us now," Hotch said.

"Okay," the paramedic relented. "But hurry."

Reid slowly stood, his head still buzzing a little. The rock had hit Reid in almost the exactly same place as where he had gotten shot. He limped as he followed the paramedics to the ambulance. He sat in silence all the way to the hospital. He listened to the heart monitor and Morgan's breathing, praying that nothing was seriously wrong.

At the hospital, Reid followed Morgan as far as the emergency room. He sank into a chair and put his head in his hands. _It's not your fault… It's not your fault…_

Like Hotch had said, the rest of the team came into the hospital soon after. None of them were seriously injured, just a few cuts and bruises. All of them were examined by a doctor that was kind enough to come to them. All were given clean bills, except for Reid who was told to give his leg a little bit of a break.

"At least you don't have to use crutches," JJ tried to joke.

Reid thinly smiled, massaging his bruised knee.

_It didn't work! They got away!_

* * *

_It worked perfectly. You're getting closer to the ultimate act. Only a few more days, and you will be ready._

_Ready for what?!?_

_I will tell you soon… very soon…_

* * *

The doctor came out of the ER to talk with the team after an hour.

Everyone stood, including Reid with help from JJ.

"How is he?" Hotch asked, stepping forward.

The doctor hesitated. "It's hard to say. There was a lot of internal bleeding and the bullet cut through some of his organs. We sewed him up as best we could and got the bleeding stopped, but it's still touch and go at this point."

The team was silent as they listened to the doctor's words. They nodded solemnly.

"He's been taken to intensive care. You're welcome to sit with him." The doctor clapped Hotch on the shoulder before he left them.

Slowly, the team filed down the hall to Morgan's room. They stood around the bed. Morgan was hooked up to monitors that were the only indication of life. No one said anything. They only listened to the heart monitor, holding their breath for the next beep.

Prentiss finally broke the silence. "So, who's going to call Garcia?"

* * *

**HI GUYS!!!**

**Sorry it's been so long. Finals and a play I was in took up all of my time for a while there. I was also trying to decide what I was going to have happen to Morgan and the rest of the team. Hope you aren't too mad at me. The rest of the chapters should be coming up pretty fast. I hope that the twists I'm going to throw in keep you all interested. As of right now, there _is_ going to be a death at the end of this story.... it might change! No promises! Read and Review!!**

**~MyDarkAngel710**


	10. Mistake

**DISCLAIMER:**

**Reid: (After reading this chapter) What just happened?**

**Me: You read it. You know exactly what happened.**

**Reid: But...**

**Me: You should have listened to me and given me what I desired.**

**Reid: But... but...**

**I don't own Criminal Minds.**

* * *

_"For death begins with life's first breath. And life begins at touch of death." ~John Oxenham_

* * *

Garcia was at the hospital within hours. She brought her ever present laptop. She took up a post at Morgan's bedside and swore that she wasn't going to move.

"I'm going to track down this creep if it's the last thing I do," Garcia said with a look that said she meant it.

The rest of the team took shifts sitting in with Garcia and Morgan. The others kept working on the case. They hadn't found a letter from the unsub and all of them were a little on edge.

Reid fell asleep on his watch, and woke up to sniffling. "Garcia?" he asked as he squinted his eyes and shifted in his chair.

Garcia sniffed and quickly wiped her eyes. "Yes?" she said like nothing was wrong.

"Garcia, I don't need to be a profiler to know that something's wrong," Reid crossed his legs and leaned forward. "Talk to me."

"I'm fine…" Garcia faltered. She looked at Reid, and broke down. "Why did he have to go after Morgan? I thought he was copying Battle. Instead he copied the terrorists…"

"Garcia, we didn't think it all the way through. He was too worried about you to stop and think."

"Exactly. He was too worried about me. He never worries about himself." She started typing fiercely on her computer.

Reid shook his head. "You know you like that about him."

"Yes, and no." Garcia's typing became less frantic. "I worry about him." She looked at him lovingly.

Reid new that Garcia loved Morgan as more than a friend, the problem was that Morgan refused to admit it. Something kept holding him back. "Garcia, he loves you. You know that, we all know that. He would have done the same thing even if he had thought about the consequences."

Garcia didn't say anything at first. Then she said, "It's my fault."

"No! It's not! That's not what I meant at all!"

"But it's true. If I had listened to him in the first place I never would have dated Battle. Then he wouldn't have shot me and this whole incident might not have happened."

"Charles Swindoll said 'We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.' The unsub would have found a different way to get to him."

"Maybe you're right, but still… Reid, if he doesn't make it out of this, I'm going to blame myself forever."

Reid nodded sympathetically.

A knock on the door jolted them out of their separate thoughts.

Hotch came in and beckoned Reid into the hallway.

"How's he doing?"

"He hasn't woken up, but he seems to be doing fine. Garcia might be in worse shape by the end of this. I don't think she's slept." Reid sighed and looked through the window at Garcia, still typing on her laptop.

"I don't know, Reid." Hotch ran a hand over his face. "We haven't found anything."

Reid looked around, his glance landing on the door. His brow crinkled when he saw the square envelope in the box on the door. He pulled a glove that he always had with him out of his pocket and pulled the envelope out. "Hotch," was all he had to say.

The letter was addressed to the BAU. Inside it read.

"_I'm warning you for the last time. Go away. No one innocent was hurt. I am not sorry. You will all soon learn."_

"Is that from him?" Garcia was standing in the doorway.

Hotch and Reid both hesitated.

"You don't need to say a word. I know it's him. Tell me if you find out anything. I want to bring him in." Garcia's face was stony as she turned back to Morgan's room and closed the door.

Hotch called the rest of the team while Reid examined the rest of the envelope. There was writing on the inside. He tried to read it, but it was nearly impossible.

"The team is going to meet us at the police station. Let's go," Hotch turned to leave. Reid followed after a long glance at Garcia, who sat at Morgan's side, holding his hand.

_I'm ready._

_Good. Now we just need to wait for them to move into place._

Reid walked down the hallway of the hospital, his gun drawn. They had figured out that the unsub was going to "finish the job" with Morgan. The rest of the team was somewhere about the hospital, trying to find this guy. Reid was on his way to Morgan's room.

Reid leaned against a corner and took a deep breath before whipping around it. He scanned the hall, and thought he saw a shadow disappearing around the final corner to Morgan's room. Without hesitation, he ran down the hall and turned the corner, gun raised.

Morgan's door was just swinging shut. It didn't latch and Reid would have missed the motion if he hadn't been looking at the right place. Reid's breath stalled in his throat. He gulped a few times and took a deep breath before he made his way to the room.

He used his foot to open the door the tiniest bit.

Garcia was on the floor. Her eyes were glassy. Her throat had been sliced open and she had been stabbed multiple times. Reid swallowed a sob. His gaze drifted to the bed.

A man stood over Morgan. The heart machine was screaming, Morgan having been apparently disconnected from it. The man raised an arm, a knife glinting in the sunlight coming through the window.

With a cry, Reid raised the gun, aimed, and shot. The man stood rigid for a moment, then collapsed. Reid ran to the man and stood over him, the gun still ready. Using his foot, he flipped the man over.

Morgan's face stared up at him, blank in death.

Reid held back a cry. He turned to the bed.

He only saw the man's bright smile before the knife took away his consciousness.

* * *

**Hi all!**

**I hope your not mad at me. I don't think that there's much to say....**

**Just read and review.**

**Sorry!**

**~MyDarkAngel710**


	11. Caution

**DISCLAIMER:**

**Hotch: (stares at me)**

**Me: Don't look at me like that!**

**Hotch:...**

**Me: What!?!?!**

**Hotch: You know what.**

**Me: (smiles weakly)**

**I don't own Criminal Minds**

* * *

_"Remember my stong advice, just remember to always think twice." ~ Micheal Jackson_

* * *

"Reid! Reid! Wake up!" Someone was yelling and shaking Reid's shoulder.

"No… no…" Reid weakly refused as he came back into consciousness. "Where… where am I?"

"We're at the police station." Hotch's face finally came into focus. "You fell asleep on the way here." Reid had a feeling that it wasn't a calm sleep by the look on Hotch's face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Reid said as he shook himself and got out of the SUV. He didn't wait for Hotch. He remembered his dream and he was visibly shaking. He still clutched the envelope in his hand.

JJ, Rossi, and Prentiss were waiting in the conference room for them. Reid slumped into a seat and massaged his temples.

"Everything okay?" JJ asked.

Reid nodded in response. He didn't need to look to see the glances being exchanged.

"The unsub knows where Morgan is. He left us a note. Reid," Morgan motioned to the table and Reid gave up the envelope.

"I think there's writing on the inside," Reid said, suddenly feeling very fatigued.

"He's right," Rossi agreed, looking inside the envelope himself. He took some scissors and cut along the edge seams. The inside read:

"_There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins."_ Ecclesiastes 7:20

"Ecclesiastes 7:20," Reid said with no expression. _I knew this was coming._

The room was silent. Rossi hadn't been with the team at the time, but he had gathered enough information about the team to understand what this was.

"He might not be after you, he didn't go after Garcia," JJ said.

Reid managed a small smile. "I would rather he go after me than any of you."

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"I think we should add guards to Morgan's hospital room," Reid said, remembering his nightmare.

"Alright," Hotch consented without question. "I think that you should stay in the station until we find this guy."

Reid considered Hotch. "Okay."

"Alright. This guy has obviously been paying attention to where we all are. I think our best bet right now is to check the hospital security cameras and see if we can catch this guy." JJ and Prentiss both stood and nodded understanding. "Rossi and I will get the security cameras of the school and we can meet at the hospital and have Garcia look over them for any matching people. No one goes alone anywhere. No splitting up."

JJ flinched and glanced at Reid. She tried to cover it up, but Reid saw it.

The team filed out. Rossi clapped a hand on Reid's shoulder as he walked past. Reid smiled sadly after them. He massaged his bruised knee again while he waited for the team to leave the premises.

He listened to the SUV's pull away.

He sighed. He pulled his bag over to him and looked inside for nothing in particular. He hated waiting. He shifted in his chair, and grimaced when pain shot up his leg. He pulled another chair over and propped his leg up on it. He pulled out a book, but couldn't focus on it. Reid yawned and ran a hand over his tired eyes. He picked up the envelope and note from the unsub and read through them again. Nothing was written that could point him in any direction as to who this guy was.

Reid threw the papers back onto the table and was rewarded with a slight clanking sound. Puzzled, he reached over and picked up the envelope again. There was a small square pocket that wasn't visible unless you knew to look for it. With his brow furrowed, Reid used his fingernail to pry the pocket open. He jumped when a round object burst out and bounced onto the table.

Reid grabbed it and held it up in the light. It was a ring. It looked like a wedding ring. He looked at it closer and realized with a jolt that he recognized it. He had only seen it up close once before. It had been on Haley Brooks-Hotchner's finger.

Reid scrambled for his cell phone, only to find that it was dead. He jumped up, regretting it when he twisted his knee. Reid swallowed a cry of pain. He limped to the door and had his hand on the handle before he changed his mind. This unsub knew where they all were and what was happening. He might have connections to the police force. Reid couldn't risk announcing his new knowledge.

Making a split decision, Reid grabbed his bag and the evidence. He limped as calmly as he could out into the main station. He was almost to the door when Handel walked up. He had come to help with the investigation in the new town.

"Sir, I was told specifically to keep you here," he said, laying a restraining hand on Reid's arm.

"Oh, uh, I just wanted to go next door and get some coffee. This case has me beat," Reid tried lamely.

"I don't know," Handel skeptically said.

"Really, it's fine. I'll be back in five minutes and if not, you have my permission to call Hotch yourself." Reid managed a smile that he hoped looked confident.

"Okay, okay," Handel relented. "Five minutes."

Reid nodded and backed out the door. He walked to the coffee shop and up to the counter. If someone was watching him, he needed to make this believable. Reid ordered and took his coffee with him toward a bulletin board near the back. There was an exit into an ally way. Reid quickly slipped through and walked as fast as he could away from the police station. His phone charger was at the hotel at the other town. If he could get there, he would only need to plug his phone in for a minute. He wasn't going to trust any land lines. Not for this.

Reid got on a bus that had just pulled up and gladly sank into a seat.

His five minutes were up.

* * *

**HI!**

**Did you really think I could kill of Garcia? She's the bubbly happiness that keeps the team smiling!**

**Lol. Hope you guys like this chapter. Read and Review!!**

**Love,**

**~MyDarkAngel710**


	12. Thinking

**DISCLAIMER:**

**Garcia: THERE YOU ARE!**

**Me: How did you find me?!?!?**

**Garcia: Do you really want to know?**

**Me: Uh, not really... I guess...**

**Garcia: I swear, if you kill Morgan I am going to make you life a living-**

**Me: OK! OK! I get it! You'll hack into my computer, kill my hard drive, and send a virus that will effect every future computer I own.**

**Garcia: You know I'll do it! I will ruin you're technological future!**

**Me: (shakes in fright)**

**I don't own Criminal Minds!**

* * *

_"Have you ever felt like a phone call that's been disconnected." ~Shannen Doherty_

* * *

Reid locked the door behind him as he entered his room. He went straight to the charger and plugged in the phone. It would take a minute to charge enough for him to use.

He would have paced, but his knee hurt too much. He sank into a nearby chair and put his head on his hands. He couldn't focus. His mind kept drifting. He drank the last of his coffee. It wasn't helping. He was too sleep deprived for the caffeine to help.

Reid's phone beeped as it turned on. He grabbed it and speed dialed Hotch.

"Hotchner," came the familiar voice.

"Hotch! The unsub! He… he had Haley's wedding ring. It was hidden in the envelope," Reid faltered in his explanation.

Silence was on the other end of the line.

"Hotch?"

"I heard you."

"I think the unsub is still in the system. He may not work for the FBI, but I think he's a cop."

Reid could see Hotch nodding in his mind's eye.

"You're not at the station, are you?"

Reid gulped. "No," he said meekly.

"Where are you?"

"The hotel."

"Stay there. We're coming to you." There was a disturbance on the other end of the line.

"Kid?"

"Morgan?!"

"Yeah, it's me."

"How are you?"

"I'm fine. A little sore, but okay. Listen, you be careful."

"I will."

"And thanks, Reid. I wouldn't be here without you."

Reid smiled thinly. "I'll see you soon."

"See ya soon, kid."

Reid hung up. Relief washed over him. _Morgan's okay._ Now, they just needed to find the unsub and everything would be right again. Without meaning to, Reid fell asleep.

_Now. No one knows we're here. Do it now._

_Alright._

_This is it. This is the final step. It will all be over after this. You'll- we'll- be free._

Hotch, Prentiss, JJ, and Rossi pulled up to the hotel. They went inside and took the stairs to the second floor. Each of them thinking their own thoughts as they walked down that hallway.

Hotch was thinking about Haley. Her smile, her laugh, and her son. He needed to call him as soon as possible, just to hear his voice.

JJ was worried about Reid. Since they were on their way to see him, his recent attitude had been brought back to her mind. She needed to talk to him. She had asked Morgan, but Reid hadn't even opened up to him. Something was wrong. She only wished he would talk more.

Prentiss was in a good mood. Morgan had woken up. He was going to be okay. They, well Reid, had stumbled upon the next big clue to this unsub's puzzle. Hope was prevailing her thoughts that they would be able to catch the unsub in time.

Rossi was thinking back on all of the copies thus far. Each had been had hitting. He thought back on the last copier. He thought about Zoe.

The team reached the door to Reid's room.

Hotch knocked.

At the hospital, Garcia and Morgan sat in content silence.

Garcia couldn't express her joy in words. Her prince was alive and was going to stay that way. That was all that mattered. She could stay happy and remember the good in the world. She smiled at her computer and cast a quick glance in Morgan's direction.

Morgan wasn't feeling too bad for having been shot. He was glad to be alive. And lucky. _I guess he paid me back for all the coffee before and to come_, he thought as he considered Reid and Hotch's rescue. Morgan felt safe in his hospital bed with police outside and Garcia within. He would feel even better when the entire team, including Reid, was in the same room again. For right now, he was content with the fact that Hotch and the others were going over to find him.

Reid woke up to a knock on his door. He rose and walked over. _The team must be here already. How long was I asleep?_ It hadn't felt like long, but time flies when you're dreaming. _Or having a nightmare._ Just as he was unlocking the door, Reid caught sight of his watch. He had called Hotch only five minutes ago.

No one opened the door.

Hotch knocked again.

Still no answer.

"Reid?" Hotch called.

Nothing.

"Reid, I'm coming in," Hotch warned right before he broke in the door.

Rossi and Hotch burst into the room together, their guns drawn. They looked around. Nothing was out of place. The only problem was that there was no Reid.

Rossi walked over to the bathroom, looked inside, and then shook his head at Morgan. No Reid.

"Where is he?" JJ wondered aloud.

The team shared perplexed glances. A sense of dread was descending around them.

"Guys, look." Prentiss bent down and picked up something that was lying on the floor, just inside the door.

It was a gold ring.

* * *

**Cliff Hanger!!!**

**Aren't they great?**

**lol!**

**I'll update soon, I promise! I'm really excited about this next chapter! It's all coming together! (Laughs Evilly)**

**~MyDarkAngel710**


	13. Stronger

**DISCLAIMER:**

**Me: (Quakes in fear) Who sent you?**

**Them: You know who sent us.**

**Me: Insanepersonishappy!?!?! I thought she was joking!**

**Them: As you can see, she was not.**

**Me: Oh, me...**

**I don't own Criminal Minds.**

* * *

_"Promise me you'll always remember. You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smater than you think."~ Christopher Robin to Pooh_

* * *

It was the worst yet. Reid was back in the shack. The glow of the monitors gave the room a ghostly color. A single light bulb hung above his head, not casting much light.

He could see Tobias stoking a meager fire. He was burning the fish guts. Reid tried to move was rewarded with the bite of a rope that was tying his hands together.

He closed his eyes, willing himself to wake up from his nightmare.

Reid's head ached from the hit over the head he had sustained in the cornfield.

Reid's eyebrows knit together.

No, not in the cornfield. That wasn't right. It was in his hotel room.

* * *

By the time Reid had realized how impossibly fast Hotch had arrived at the hotel, it was too late.

Reid had already unlocked the door and that was all the man had needed to break the door in. Before Reid could move, the man had hit him over the head with a baseball bat.

Reid remembered waking up in the back of a car for a short period of time. He had almost had a panic attack in that enclosed space. Before that happened, though, the car had hit a bump and Reid had banged his head against the side, causing him to lose consciousness again.

* * *

Reid opened his eyes with a gasp.

This was no nightmare.

Slowly, Reid turned his head to look at his captor.

He had no idea what was in store for him, and wasn't excited to find out.

* * *

Hotch and the others stared at each other as the realization that Reid was gone sunk in.

JJ sank into the chair that Reid had been sitting in only a half hour ago.

"We're going to find him," Hotch said.

Prentiss nodded dumbly.

As if on cue, Morgan called.

"Hey guys, what's up? You find anything out?"

No one said anything.

"Guys? Come on, I don't have all day."

Still, the rest of the hesitated.

"Guys?"

"Morgan…" Hotch began, but failed.

Morgan knew immediately something was wrong. "What happened?" his voice was like steel.

Hotch swallowed. "Morgan," he began again. "Reid's gone missing."

Now the silence was on Morgan's end. "Reid what?"

"Please don't make me say it again."

"The guy was going to copy Tobias next, wasn't he?"

"Yes."

There was a slight rustling on the other end. Garcia and Morgan were heard arguing.

Garcia's voice came on. "I'm revoking you're phone conversation privileges with Morgan. He isn't allowed to help on this one."

Hotch managed a faint smile. "Okay, Garcia."

The call disconnected.

The team looked at each other and tried to decide where to start.

* * *

Reid watched the man. _I can't do this again. _Gideon's words came back to him. "Reid, if you're watching, you are not responsible for this. You understand me? He's perverting God to justify murder. You are stronger than him. He cannot break you."

Reid shook himself and sat up straighter. He was stronger now, he _could_ do this.

"I have to go away for a while, but I'll be back," the man said as he walked out the door. Reid watched him go.

The monitors showed homes of people, again. Reid watched the families as they went about their ways.

He only could hope that he couldn't be forced to make the decisions he had last time.

* * *

**Hi.**

**Sorry this chapters not that long, but I think it gets the point across. Also, I was hurried along by some random guests. (Thanks insanepersonishappy...."**

**The next chapter should be up tomorrow.**

**Read and Review!!**

**Oh! And I've decided to hold a contest: Try and guess who the unsub is. A random police guy? One of the BAU? Who knows!?!?! Take a wild guess. I'm trying to decide on a special prize for the person (or person's) who guess right.**

**~MyDarkAngel710**


	14. Missing

**DISCLAIMER:**

**Me: YOU PEOPLE ARE RELENTLESS!! Darren, stop trying to call Jack! And Gibbs, lay off a little will ya? I've been typing none stop ever since you guys got here.**

**Darren: I'm only following orders.**

**Gibbs: Same with me.**

**Me: I really need to have a talk with my fans....**

**I don't own Criminal Minds.**

* * *

_"You know somebody, and they cry for you. They stay awake at night and dream of you. I bet you never know they do, but somebody's crying for you." ~ Unknown_

* * *

The team was stationed in a new hotel. No one had been told of their new location, and none of them were actually staying there. A single room was being used as their headquarters.

"Okay, so Reid helped us figure out that this unsub had access to information about our cases at one time or another. The unsub must be following us. He knows where Morgan's hospital room is, and where Reid was staying." Rossi sat with his elbows on his knees and his chin resting on his clasped hands.

Pictures covered a corkboard. They were of crime scenes and victims past and present.

The team was scattered about the room. Hotch was running a hand over his face as he leaned against a door jamb. Prentiss and JJ were each sitting on a bed. None of them had slept since Reid had gone missing, twenty-four hours ago.

_I wonder what the statistics of finding someone are,_ Prentiss thought. She remembered Reid talking about them once when a little girl went missing in a mall. She was distracted from her thoughts by JJ.

"I told him that we wouldn't split up. I should have thought remembered that when we discovered it was Tobias…"

"JJ, you couldn't have done anything," Prentiss tried to comfort here.

"No, this is what happened last time. We split up and Reid got taken away." JJ shook her head furiously.

"JJ-" Hotch began, moving toward her.

JJ pulled her knees to her chin. "I should have stayed with him…"

"JJ, maybe you should take a break. Go visit Morgan and Garcia."

The team stood in awkward silence as JJ quietly cried.

* * *

Garcia paused in her rapid typing and looked at Morgan. He was staring at the ceiling and had been for most of the day.

"Morgan?" she ventured.

"Hmmm?" he asked without moving.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"I promised myself that I would look out for Reid when he first joined the team. He was so young." Morgan shook his head. "Do you know what today it?"

Garcia wrinkled her brows. "Today? Umm. Tuesday?"

Morgan smiled sadly. "Yes, Tuesday. But it's something else, too."

* * *

Reid's stomach growled. He hadn't eaten since the first night in this town. He had no idea what time it was. He couldn't see his watch and there were no windows.

Reid jerked at the sound of a door opening. For a brief instant, sunlight blinded him. The man walked in, wearing a ski mask. Unlike with Tobias, Reid had never seen this man's face.

Without a word, the man began setting up a video camera. He plugged it in and the red light blinked on. Reid's mind immediately flashed back to a different time. _Choose one to die…_ Reid forced himself back to the present.

"I believe I made a mistake." The man moved toward Reid, who tensed. "I believe you were tied like this." The man reached for Reid's arms, untying them. He pulled one of Reid's arms painfully up to between his shoulder blades. Reid was too weak to fight anyway. The man retied Reid's arms to the arms of the chair.

"Thank you," Reid said, remembering how he was able to talk to Tobias.

"I wouldn't thank me." The man walked back over to the computers. The monitors flashed back to the homes of the people. "I believe you know what is going to happen. Begin to make your decision." The man turned his back on Reid.

Reid allowed himself a moment of grief.

* * *

The BAU was back together, minus Reid. Morgan had gotten an early discharge from the hospital with a little help from the FBI. Garcia had made Morgan as comfortable as possible and given him leeway to participate in the case, even after her prior resolve.

"What do we got?" Rossi asked Garcia.

"Strangely, this area has a big thing for cemeteries. I have ten that are still operational, and about ten that have been abandoned."

"He's probably being held near a cemetery that's abandoned," Morgan commented.

"I agree," Hotch said. "How many are in forests and away from any close neighbors?"

"That's pretty much all of them," Garcia said as she shook her head. "It's really hard to narrow it down much more than the ten. Remember, there is a slight chance that there are more cemeteries that are so old, they aren't properly catalogued."

Silence swept over the group while Garcia printed the papers.

As Hotch distributed them, Morgan reasked his question.

"Does anyone know what day it is?"

Rossi and Prentiss looked at each other. "Tuesday?" Prentiss tried.

"No, that's not what he means," Hotch said sadly.

JJ spoke for the first time in hours. "It's Reid's birthday."

* * *

**Hiya!**

**I'm loving the comments you guys are leaving. They make me all warm and fuzzy and laughy and smiley and... (you get the picture).**

**I'm loving the guesses, and there is still time to put in your bid for the killer! You can vote once, twice, a million time, whatever, there aren't any real rules. Remember, I will come up with some sort of in story prize or other.**

**Keep Reading and Reviewing!!**

**~MyDarkAngel710**


	15. Choices

**DISCLAIMER:**

**Me: Thank you for the comments and (ow!) you're wonderful (ow!) patience with me. I'm humbled by your unfaul- (OW!) -tering faithfulness and (OWWW!!) STOP THAT!!!**

**House: What?**

**Me: Hitting me with your cane! I finished the chapter! You can stop now!**

**House: Yes, but it's just so much fun.**

**Me: OWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!**

**I don't own Cri-(ow)-minal (ow) Minds... (ow...)**

* * *

_"It is our choices that show who we are, far more than our abilities." ~J.K. Rowling_

* * *

Reid woke up when he felt the man touch his arm. He was instantly awake. His sleeve was rolled up to the elbow. He saw the bottle and the syringe.

Reid tried to shift as far away as he could, even though there was no way he could get away. "Please," he faltered. "Please don't. Please. You don't have to do this. Please, no."

The man stopped and considered Reid through the eyeholes in his mask. "Yes. I do."

"No, you don't!" Reid's voice cracked.

"It won't stop unless I do this exactly right." The man continued filling the syringe.

"What won't stop?"

"You've all been following me! You won't leave me alone. Ever since I helped you, you've all been following me!"

"What?"

"I know you've been watching me. I can feel your eyes. You'll never leave me alone."

"No one's following you!"

"Yes you are! All of you! You can't hide it from me. I've been warned of your lies."

_Schizophrenia_. "Whatever he's telling you, it's not true."

The man shook his head. "You can't trick me." He used his belt to tie Reid's upper arm.

"Please, no." Reid pulled his arm as close to his body as possible.

"Don't fight it. Doesn't it make everything better?"

"No, no…"

12345

Hotch was in the police office when Handel came back from lunch.

"Have you guys found anything on Agent Reid?"

"Doctor," Hotch corrected automatically. "And no, nothing yet. But we're going to find him." Hotch continued searching the database. Garcia was tied up with other business and Hotch had volunteered for this job.

"What exactly are you looking for?" Handel said as he looked over Hotch's shoulder.

"I'm making a list of all the computer repair men in this town." Hotch finished his search and clicked the print button.

"Where ya off to now?" Handel asked as Hotch grabbed the printed papers and left the room.

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you that."

12345

Garcia was finishing her own search of the FBI discharges. She had found five more that fit at least one part of the profile.

"I have the information on the computer guys around here." Hotch came in the room and dead bolted the door behind him.

"I'll start cross referencing," Garcia said as she accepted the stack of papers.

There was a beep on Garcia's laptop.

Garcia froze.

"What is it?" Morgan asked, immediately sensing something wrong.

"It's happening again."

12345

Reid was still a little out of it when he woke back up.

The man was standing next to the video camera.

Reid slowly shook his head, trying to clear it.

"It's time."

"What?" Reid asked.

"It's time to choose." The unsub turned and motioned to the monitors behind him.

Reid blinked. _Not again_. "No."

"Just like last time." The unsub didn't miss a beat. Reid watched him take out a hand gun. "God's will," the man said as he loaded one bullet into the gun and spun the barrel.

Reid gulped. He looked at the monitors.

12345

"Come on, man. Pick someone and give us a hint to find them," Morgan begged.

The team was gathered around Garcia's laptop.

"No." Reid was firm in his statement.

The sound of a gun barrel was heard. The team held their breath. There was a click. No gunshot. Everyone relaxed the slightest bit.

JJ let out a slight sob and disappeared to the bathroom.

"Please, Reid," Morgan whispered.

12345

Reid still wasn't thinking totally straight. Somehow, he was able to realize that the team was watching this. He had to give them a hint.

He swallowed, his mouth dry. "Why are you doing this? We aren't following you."

"I told you, boy-"Reid grimaced at the familiar nickname. "- I know that you all have been since I helped you. You can't fool me. It's over for you all!" The man raised the gun. "Choose, or I will kill all of them. And you."

"No."

12345

Hotch walked away from the screen and paced the room, running his hands through his hair.

There was another click.

"Choose!" Morgan willed through the screen.

12345

Reid was shaking. He was losing some of his prior confidence. _I have to keep him talking._

"How do you know we're following you?"

"Because he told me!"

"Who's he?"

"Him! He tells me everything, and he's right." The man paused. "I shouldn't be talking to you. This is your last chance. Choose."

Reid opened his mouth. He willed himself to say no, but he knew it wouldn't help in the end. He sighed in despair. He closed his eyes. "I chose the one on the right to be saved."

12345

The video feed was cut quickly. The team stood in stunned silence. It was Tobias all over again.

Hotch was the first to wake up. "Could you trace it?"

"No," Garcia said sullenly.

"How did he get to your computer?"

"I don't know." Garcia seemed on the verge of tears. "I can't do anything to track him."

12345

Reid watched the man. Knives were packed and he grabbed a separate bag of unknown contents.

He had almost left when he hesitated. He turned back and looked at Reid with his dark eyes. He dropped his bag and walked back to Reid. He knelt and took out the bottle and syringe.

"No. Please stop. Please…" Reid protested weakly.

"You want it," the man stated matter of factly.

It was true, but Reid refused to accept it. He tried in vain to pull away as the needle bit into his arm.

* * *

**So... now that House and his cane have left the building.....**

**I feel horrible for this chapter, but I think I had to do it.... right? :*(**

**(sniff)**

**Anyway, the contest is still open, and if it helps any, none of the guesses have been right so far.... That's okay, this is a really hard unsub to figure out, and so far the guesses have been really good. IT'S NOT ONE THAT YOU WOULD PROBABLY EVEN THINK ABOUT, MUCH LESS CONSIDER!!! Only a few more chapters left to guess, so keep it up...**

**Thanks again to all my adoring fans for their faithfullness!**

**REID (lol) and review!!**

**~MyDarkAngel710**


	16. If

**DISCLAIMER:**

**Me: (slightly slurred speech) So, I'm having a great day... Don't you think so Captian?**

**Jack: (swaying on his feet) Aye. It's a pirate's life, and it's a wonderful one.**

**Me: Well, I've gotta get back to the party... Enjoy the chapter... Jack, pass the rum!**

**Jack: Aye, Aye!!**

**I don't own Criminal Minds.**

* * *

_"Many of us crucify ourselves between two things- regret for the past and fear of the future." ~ Fulton Oursler_

* * *

_Is it working?_

_Yes, it is. None of them have contacted you. None of them want to talk to you. They are getting more distant._

* * *

JJ was pacing the room. Morgan watched. They were waiting on Garcia to finish cross referencing the names of the computer workers of the town with former members of the FBI.

JJ sighed and put a hand on her forehead. "What are we going to do?"

"We're doing all we can do," Morgan said. "Hotch, Rossi, and Prentiss are checking out the cemeteries and we're trying to narrow down the unsubs."

"We should be doing something else!" JJ collapsed into the arm chair, her head in her hands.

* * *

"It's empty," Rossi said as he left the shack. "This is only the fifth one. We aren't going to get to all of them today," he commented as he looked at the setting sun.

"I know. If only we had started at a different spot…" Prentiss said.

"Don't think about that. We'll only drive ourselves insane," Hotch warned.

"But, we're so close! Let's try one more."

"No, it's getting too dark. The unsub already has the advantage, and us getting into trouble won't help Reid."

Prentiss frowned, but it was ruined by a yawn.

"Besides," Hotch continued. "We need to get some rest. We need to be at our best if we're ever going to find Reid."

"I agree," Rossi said.

"Fine," Prentiss said as she went to the car in a huff. "But I'm not telling the others."

* * *

Reid came to as the screaming began. He kept his eyes closed. This unsub wasn't as skilled as Tobias had been. Tobias had killed quickly and cleanly. The screams coming from the monitor were horrible. Reid refused to look.

Quiet came quickly. Reid cautiously opened his eyes.

The center monitor showed a horror scene.

* * *

"We'll be right there." Hotch spun the wheel sharply to the right, causing Prentiss and Rossi to grabn on for dear life.

"What is it?" Rossi questioned.

"They just got a call on 911. It said 'Raphael is going to kill.'"

The rest of the ride was silent except for the scream of Hotch's siren.

Prentiss dialed the phone to warn JJ, Morgan, and Garcia.

* * *

"Gotcha," Morgan said as he hung up the phone.

"Did they find him?" JJ said, perking up.

"No, but there's been a murder. It's just like Tobias." Morgan shook his head.

Garcia didn't look at either of them. She was too worried about watching for the next step in the ugly process.

I happened.

"Guys, he posted it."

* * *

_I put it on the internet like you said._

_Good. Now the world will know the truth._

* * *

Morgan, JJ, and Garcia watched the murder in horror. It was like Tobias's murders, but not as neat. The victims were slower to die. Before the unsub left, he turned to the camera.

"_Now you see what the FBI can do. Do not trust the government, it will betray you!"_

The video cut off.

"We can't let this get out," Morgan said.

Garcia told him the same thing she told Gideon years ago. "I can't do much. It's on the internet and once it's out you can't take it back. I can only do what I did last time."

"What was that?" JJ asked.

"I'll send out a mass email tagging the video as a virus." Garcia paused.

"What's the matter?" Morgan asked.

"Last time I did this, I regretted it."

* * *

The man came into the shack.

Reid watched him walk over to the monitor. They both watched as the BAU team entered the crime scene. Hotch and Prentiss knew just what to look for. Hotch saw the laptop first.

He quickly walked over. "Reid, stay strong. We're coming for you. We'll fin-"

The man shut off the monitor and turned back to Reid.

"They won't find you."

* * *

Hotch, Prentiss, and Rossi walked back into the hotel room tired and emotionally worn.

Morgan and JJ had fallen asleep. Garcia was wiping her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Prentiss asked as she quickly walked over.

"It's been on for five minutes."

Hotch and Rossi joined the girls at the laptop.

On the screen was Reid.

"I couldn't wake up Morgan and JJ to see this…" Garcia swallowed a sob.

The unsub was standing next to Reid.

Reid was looking up at him with a scared expression.

Suddenly and without warning, the man whipped out his hand and struck Reid in the face.

Garcia jumped and let out a little cry. Hotch clenched his fists. Rossi mumbled something harshly and turned away to pace the room. Prentiss was silent, but her expression was one of pain.

"What is it?" Morgan said groggily from the bed over.

No one said anything.

"Bring it over here," he ordered.

Slowly, the others brought the laptop to Morgan.

* * *

Reid slowly looked back up. He could feel a bruise forming on his cheek.

"Please stop," he pleaded.

"You should have left me alone. You should have told me before it happened!" Another hit landed on Reid's other cheek.

Reid spit blood out of his mouth. "Before what happened?"

"Before he tried to kill-" The man froze. "I see what you're doing! It won't work!"

* * *

"Did you get that?" Prentiss asked Hotch. He nodded, his eyes hard.

* * *

The needle and bottle reappeared in the man's hands. Reid shook his head and was on the verge of tears.

* * *

"Oh, man," Morgan said.

The team helplessly watched in horror as the man drew in the drug from the syringe.

They watched him tie Reid's upper arm.

They watched him inject it as Reid gave a small cry of pain.

They watched Reid pass out as the camera was turned off.

* * *

**To my Adoring Fans:**

**No one's mad at me, right?**

**Anyway.....**

**I'm leaving the contest open for one more chapter so if you want to vote, go ahead, it's your last chance.**

**Also, thank you Nymphadora-CullenBAU for sending over Jack Sparrow! He was a blast! ;)**

**I should have the next chapter up by tomorrow.**

**Reid and Review! (Am I weird for finding that extremly funny?"**

**~MyDarkAngel710**


	17. Remembering

**DISCLAIMER:**

**Me: Well guys *hiccup* these have been the best *hiccup* few days of my li*hiccup*fe**

**Jack: I concur. It's a wonerful life...**

**Me: Not only are Mr. Sparrow-**

**Jack: Captain!**

**Me: Captain Sparrow enjoying ourselves, but we have a few friends over as well. *hiccup* This is Neal Caffery, who I just met.**

**Neal: It's been a blast.**

**Me: We're best *hiccup* friends now. And Darren, my old buddy, (grabbs Darren's shoulder) came to join us as well!**

**Darren: Sorry about earlier. No hard feelings?**

**Me: Naw... You were only followin orders. Oh, and last but not least, Dr. Spencer Reid decided to join *hiccup* us! Glad you aren't weirded out by me...**

**Reid: You're actually kinda cool.**

**Me: (shocked) I'm touched! You know what this calls for...**

**Jack: PASS THE RUM!!**

**All: Whooo!**

**Me: And to those of you who are unable to *hiccup* be with us, enjoy the chapter. It might put a little bit of a downer on things with all that happens with Reid and the unsub and-**

**(Awkward silence as everyone looks at Reid)**

**I don't own Criminal Minds...**

* * *

_"May you never forget what is worth remembering, nor ever remember what is best forgotten." ~ Irish Blessing_

* * *

Morgan was sitting with his legs over the side of the bed. He turned and punched the headboard, startling the rest of the team. "We should be able to find him! This guy is just copying others, so why can't we remember enough to find him?"

"Morgan, you know that that's exactly what makes it impossible to find him. We can't tell what _he_ is going to do. We only know that the original killer would do," Hotch reminded him.

JJ shifted in her sleep on the recliner. They hadn't woken her. She was already unstable.

"Well obviously he's following the same pattern pretty closely," Morgan fumed.

"Morgan," Rossi warned.

"Let's think of what Reid was able to find out for us. He got the unsub to say that he had worked with us before that that his life had been threatened in some way or other. Garcia, do you think you could bring up a few cases that involved an agent being taken hostage? This would be one of the more recent cases."

"I'll do my best. I'm no magician." Garcia's joke fell flat. The real magician they needed was who they were trying to find.

Prentiss yawned.

"Get some sleep. It's going to be a long day tomorrow," Hotch said.

Prentiss was about to refuse, but Rossi cut her off. "We'll wake you up if anything happens and we'll take turns watching the laptop."

Reluctantly, she nodded and curled up in a corner with a blanket.

12345

Reid was reliving all of his regrets. He had already sent his mom away. Nathan Harris laying on a hotel bed, bleeding to death. Adam Jackson. Gideon. Elle. Haley. Rebecca Bryant. Randall Garner. All of the people he wished he could have helped, but couldn't. His final memory was Tobias Hankel. The last time Reid had seen him, lying on the ground, dying from Reid's shot. Reid remembered Tobias thanking him and asking if he would be reunited with his mother.

"Get up boy." Someone kicked the leg of Reid's chair, causing it to jerk.

Reid shook his head as he came back to the present.

The unsub stood over him.

Reid swallowed, his mouth dry. His head ached from where he had been hit earlier. _Today? Yesterday?_ Reid couldn't be sure. Time was immeasurable. "What do you want?" he managed.

"It's almost time for you to choose."

12345

Hotch was shaken awake by Prentiss. "Hotch, he's back on."

Hotch moved his stiff body over to the bed and watched over Garcia's shoulder.

Reid looked horrible. Dried blood was on the side of his face from his beating earlier that night.

"Choose," came the voice of the unsub.

"No. Kill me," Reid said.

"It won't work. Your death has already been set."

The team looked at each other in dismay.

12345

_What?_ Reid thought to himself.

"There is nothing you can do to change your fate. You brought it on yourself. The only thing you can control is which one of your team dies."

Reid shook his head. "I'm not going to choose."

"I will kill them all."

Reid stared at the man. _Tobias was easier than this…_

The gun reappeared. The barrel spun. "Choose. You're not meant to die like this."

Reid was even more confused. He didn't say anything.

12345

The man was impatient. He took the gun and hit Reid hard over the side of his head. The crack was audible over the laptop speakers.

JJ sat up in her chair. She saw the rest of the team gathered around the laptop. Immediately, she walked over.

Reid's head was bleeding again.

"Reid, just pick one of us," Hotch said allowed, as if Reid could hear him. "Please."

12345

Reid's head was spinning. He couldn't think straight between the drugs and the beatings. "I… can't…"

The man advanced on him again, hitting him in his knee. Reid cried in pain.

"Choose."

Reid whimpered and tried to think of something to help the team. His mind wasn't working like it should.

"Now!"

Reid stammered something unintelligible.

The unsub fired the gun. No gunshot, only a click. He had a few more seconds.

12345

"Come on, kid," Morgan pleaded.

Everyone held their breath.

"Give us something."

12345

Reid looked around the room from the corner of his eye. _Something, anything…_ Suddenly, something struck Reid. He recognized this man's voice. It hadn't hit him until now, of all times. Quickly, he figured out a way to hopefully get his point across.

"Penelope Garcia. She's escaped death too many times."

* * *

**So what do you think?**

**The contest for the unsub is now officially closed and TinaQTICO2 is the WINNER!!! You're welcome to post other guesses, but there will be no reward. :( sorry!**

**The chapter where the unsub's identity is revealed is still a little ways away, so there's plenty of time to think of someone!**

**I'm glad you guys like my disclaimers and thanks to all of you who sent over the characters! They were a blast, even though the party kinda died after the whole awkward silence thing...**

**Anyway...**

**Reid and Review! I love your comments. If you have any ideas that you think would work well in the story and you want to share, let me know!**

**Love ya all!**

**~MyDarkAngel710**


	18. Hinting

**DISCLAIMER:**

**Me: You guys are the best.**

**Jack: Aw, you're just saying that.**

**Me: No! Really!**

**Darren: (A little tipsy) Thanks... now pass that bottle.**

**Me: (swaying) Nope! I promised that I wouldn't let you get too drunk.**

**Darren: (grumbles something)**

**Me: By the way, thank you Nymphadora-CullenBAU for joining the party and bringing cookies!**

**N-CBAU: No prob. Thanks for inviting me.**

**Reid: Technically, you invited yourself.**

**Me: So what? She brought COOKIES!!**

**Neal: (through a cookie) It's true, and she brought Reese's. And she told me about this party. Thanks for that.**

**N-CBAU: You're welcome.**

**Me: Okay, time to get down to business.**

**I don't own Criminal Minds, Darren, Jack, N-CBAU, Neal, Girl Scout cookies, or Neal.**

* * *

_"When things are bad, we take comfort in the thought that they could always be worse. And when they are, we find hope in the thought that things are so bad they have to get better." ~Unknown_

* * *

Garcia stared at the laptop, not knowing what to say. Reid had just given her to the wolf.

"Garcia?" Hotch asked.

Garcia managed a small nod.

"Remember, the last time Reid did this, he was giving us a hint."

Garcia squared her shoulders and nodded.

* * *

Reid held his breath, hoping the man wouldn't catch on.

"Very well." Reid could practically hear the smile in the man's voice. He moved to turn the camera off.

"But on the other hand," Reid cut in. _I have to make sure they know._

The unsub paused.

"Agent Jareau is the one that always stands on the sidelines and never does her part."

* * *

The team looked in confusion at JJ. The shock on her face was painful to see.

"JJ," Prentiss began to say, but JJ cut her off.

"He's trying to tell us something."

* * *

The unsub considered Reid for a moment, the turned to the side, as if listening to something. He frowned. "What do you mean?"

Reid opened his mouth, but was shushed by the man.

* * *

The BAU had no idea what was going on. Reid's expression was one of confusion, and it was totally silent on the other side of the camera.

* * *

"You're trying to trick me."

Reid stammered and tried to come up with an excuse.

"How dare you!" The man advanced on Reid, forgetting the gun and grabbing a large log.

Reid's eyes were wide with fright.

* * *

JJ left. She knew what was coming and couldn't watch.

The others couldn't look away.

* * *

The log hit Reid in the arm. He sucked in his breath and let out a cry of pain. Tears leaked from his eyes.

"You shouldn't have lied to me!" The man took another swing.

Reid managed to duck, missing the blow. This did not help his situation.

The man was now furious. He swung again. Reid's attempt to miss this one caused his chair to tip backward. His mind flashed back to the last time his chair tipped and his near death experience. _This is no Tobias. This man has no humanity like Tobias. He won't help me._

* * *

Prentiss gasped as the man raised the log high above his head. Garcia looked away. Everyone prayed in their own way that somehow Reid could avoid it.

* * *

Reid rolled his head away just in time. He was already out of energy. He hadn't eaten in days and his only water came once a day from a ladle. He couldn't keep this up.

The man was tired of missing. He hit Reid in the knee with the log.

Reid screamed.

* * *

"Take it," Garcia said handing the laptop to Hotch. "I can't watch anymore." She got up and joined JJ in the bathroom.

Prentiss took Garcia's place on the bed, taking the laptop back from Hotch.

* * *

"Please stop," Reid pleaded.

"Stop trying to trick me!" The man hit Reid in the arm again. Reid felt the bone break.

The man reached down and grabbed the back of Reid's chair. He jerked it back upright.

"Tell me what you told them!"

"I didn't tell them anything…" Reid's head was spinning.

"Don't lie to me, boy!" The unsub finally managed to hit him over the head.

Reid's head snapped forward. He squeezed his eyes shut. He felt the warm blood running down the back of his head. Consciousness was quickly slipping away.

Reid looked at the unsub. There was mud on his clothes. _It hasn't rained recently…_ Reid looked defiantly at the unsub and spoke in a clear voice, "Stay away from the river."

Reid hadn't been sure at first, but when he saw the look in the man's eyes, he knew he had been right.

Unfortunately, the realization didn't help him any at the moment. The unsub instead stabbed him in the ribs with the log. Reid grimaced, sucking in his breath and blinking hard.

The man whipped out the needle and bottles. He filled the needle as far as he could.

"It's time for you to go."

* * *

"Oh, no. Please no." Morgan was shaking his head in disbelief.

"Oh," Prentiss put a hand to her mouth.

* * *

The man jabbed the needle with unnecessary force into Reid's forearm and pushed the plunger in as far as it would go. Reid gasped and squeezed his eyes shut.

The clock began to tick.

* * *

**What have I done!?!?!**

**I think I secretly have it in for Reid....**

**On the bright side, the team has all the information they need to figure out who this guy is.**

**I hope they figure out in time...**

**~MyDarkAngel710**

**P.S.**

**This party is going to keep going until this fanfic is finished. It's way fun.**

**P.S.S**

**You're all invited to join if you want.**

**P.S.S.S.**

**Bring food. We're running out of Thin Mints and Reese's and _'some' _of us are getting a little P.O.'d. (looks pointedly at Neal and Darren)**

**Neal and Darren: What?!?**


	19. Unsub

**DISCLAIMER:**

**Me: INSANEPERSONISHAPPY, 1111LITTLEM, TINAQTICO2, VANEETRAX, XXSPANCER-REIDXX, HPENTCHANTRESS, JIMMY-BARNES-13, and HAZELJV!!!!! SOOOOO glad you came over.**

**Neal: And that you brought food.**

**Darren: More specifically, that you brought Oreos and brownies! (grabs plates of cookies and brownies)**

**Jack: Did anybody bring rum?**

**Me: No… I think we've had enough.**

**(grumbles in a negative fashion from all around the room)**

**Me: Nymphadora-CullenBAU brought music, Sierra Mist, and buffalo wings, though.**

**N-CBAU: (Displays CD's) Which do you want to listen to?**

**Jack: Mix CD.**

**Neal: NCIS soundtrack.**

**Reid: Muse.**

**Darren: U2.**

**(All glare at each other)**

**Me: Uhhhhh… How about the mix CD? I'm sure there's something for all of us on there.**

**(Jack grins triumphantly while the others sulk)**

**Me: Anyway… time for business. What have you guys found out? (turns to NCIS and Hogwarts team)**

**Harry: I think we figured it out.**

**Me: Let me see…. Yep! That's it! You know what that means?**

**Hermione: That means that you're finally going to reveal it.**

**Me: Yes, but first I must give props to TinaQTICO2 who was the first to figure it out.**

**TQTICO2: (bows dramatically) Thank you, thank you!**

**Me: And now, the moment you've all been waiting for, the revealing of the UNSUB!!!!!!!**

**By the way, I don't own Criminal Minds, any of the above characters, food, music, or people above.**

* * *

"_I am a serial killer. I would kill again." ~ Aileen Wuornos_

* * *

The camera remained on and pointed at Reid. The unsub had disappeared.

It took only seconds for the team to spring into action.

"Okay, Reid's given us some kind of hint. This unsub is somehow related to something involving Garcia and JJ," Hotch said.

Prentiss set the laptop aside, and started pacing the room.

"Was it the same case, or did we work with this guy on multiple cases?" Morgan asked, tearing his eyes from the laptop.

Hotch ran a hand through his hair. "I have no idea."

Rossi walked over to the bathroom and knocked on the door. "Girls?"

"What is it?" came Garcia's muffled reply.

"We need your knowledge."

The door slowly opened and Garcia came out. She quietly closed the door behind her. "JJ's a little busy."

The sound of crying could be faintly heard.

Rossi nodded his understanding. "We need to know of any agents of the FBI that worked with us on cases involving you or JJ."

Garcia nodded and picked up the laptop. She froze when she saw Reid.

"Time is of the essence," Rossi pressed.

Garcia swallowed and nodded. She hesitated, then pulled up a new window without exiting from the camera. She didn't ask what had happened after she had left. She was scared to find out.

"Should I cross reference people from our list of mental illness?"

"Yes, please," Hotch said, bending down to look over her shoulder.

"Okay, we've narrowed the list down to five possible unsubs."

"Let's hear it," Morgan said, leaning forward.

"Agent Anderson."

"No," Hotch quickly stated.

"Ok. Umm… Agent Josh Kramer, Agent Adam Fuchs, and Agent Jill Morris."

"I thought you said there were five," Rossi pointed out.

"The fifth was Reid," Garcia answered flatly.

An awkward silence stalled the discussion.

"Okay, Kramer. When was he with us?"

"During the Russian case we had a few years back, but it didn't have much to do with Garcia or JJ," Prentiss offered.

"Okay, that's a start," Rossi encouraged.

"What about Morris?" Morgan suggested. "She had a thing for trouble."

"Yes," Rossi admitted. "But I don't think it's her now. The unsub that we see in the video feed appears male. I don't think Morris has the strength to do what this guy has done, either."

"That leaves Fuchs. Where does he come into play?" Hotch asked.

"I remember him," Morgan said. "He worked with us on your case," he said, nodding to Garcia.

Garcia wrinkled her brow. "I think I remember him. Wasn't he the one that was held hostage for a few seconds by Battle before JJ shot-"

Realization dawned on the team.

"The case was yours, but JJ was the one that saved his life. You both were the major players," Prentiss thought through aloud.

"Reid did it," Morgan smiled.

* * *

_What do I do?_

_Take care of him. You've made the leap. Now you need to finish the job._

_But-_

_No! It's too late to go back. You need to finish off him and then the rest._

A slight hesitation. _Okay, you're right._

_I'm always right._

* * *

"We still have no idea how to find him," Rossi reminded the team.

"Fuchs retired from the FBI six months ago," Garcia stated as she continued to type on her computer. "He sold his house and withdrew all of his money from his bank account. Essentially, he's disappeared from the system."

"That doesn't help," Prentiss said as she sat in the recliner.

"Understatement of the year," Morgan sighed.

"Guys," Hotch warned.

"Sorry," Morgan apologized.

"What else can you tell us, Garcia?"

She hit enter and sat back as she read from her computer. "I can tell you that he started to spiral after his encounter with Battle. He became more of a recluse. He refused some cases and sometimes skipped out of town without telling anyone. The final straw must have come with the death of his sister from a car crash."

"When did that happen?" Rossi pressed.

"Seven months ago. He turned in his notice of resignation papers the next week." Garcia shook her head. "Why didn't anyone realize something was wrong?"

"People don't want to admit when something is wrong with someone. They feel it points out the flaws in their own character," Hotch said as he slid down the wall and sat on the floor, exhausted.

The bathroom door opened. The team averted their eyes as JJ exited the bathroom. She sat down next to Garcia and picked up the discarded laptop.

"Fuchs?" she asked.

"Yeah," Prentiss said, looking at the ground.

JJ nodded. She took a deep breath and clicked a button. The team sensed a sudden rigidness in her.

"Reid's going to be fine," Morgan tried to assure her.

"It's not that," JJ said, shaking her head vigorously, new tears leaking from her eyes. "Reid's gone. Fuchs took him away." JJ collapsed in sobs.

* * *

**I hope you all are happy with the unsub. Not an easy killer to guess, was it? I hope you enjoyed the suspense!**

**But of course, it is not over. Now is the suspense of if they will find Reid in time. How in the world are they going to do that?**

**I don't even know if I know!!**

**Oh, well. It will all work out in the end. (I hope…)**

**~MyDarkAngel710**

**P.S.**

**Thank you to all the party goers! The food really lightened up the mood and I think we can keep this up until the end of the story! Good time, good time…**


	20. Discovery

**DISLCAIMER:**

**(Insanepersonishappy walk in)**

**Jack: RUM!!!!! (Grabs rum and runs off)**

**(Darren runs after him)**

**Me: Great….**

**(Harry, Ron, and Hermione walk in)**

**Hazeljv: OMG!!!! (Collapses at their feet)**

**Harry: Uh… hi…**

**Hermione: Can't you go anywhere without people falling at your feet?**

**Ron: Aw, lay off him, Hermione, he's lucky.**

**Neal: What's this? (Looks at CD)**

**VaneetraX: The Prodigy.**

**Neal: (Looks around) Jack's gone, so let's put it on. (Smiles evilly)**

**Jack: (From next room) Don't touch that CD player! I want to hear "Time of Your Life"!**

**(Neal grumbles something)**

**Insanepersonishappy: (looks around) Where's Darren?**

**Me: (Shrugs) I think he went with Jack.**

**Reid: (Walks over) Darren's in the next room. You might want to check on him…**

**Insanepersonishappy: (Walks into other room) WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT DRINKING!!!! WHEN WE GET HOME I'M GONNA-**

**Me: Well, that seems to be going well… Hi hpenchantress!**

**Reid: Sprayable cheese!**

**Me: Welcome to the party The Princess Rosemary. Meet Reid, the resident genius.**

**Reid: Nice to meet you. Are those Girl Scout cookies?**

**TPR: Yes…**

**Reid: Good! I didn't get any the last time. Jack, Neal, and Darren ate them all…**

**Me: I-luv-to-write-law-and-order! You're back! I'm so happy!**

**Ron: Doritos! Yes!**

**Me: (hears car) Okay everybody, get quiet. Jack, turn the music down and tell insanepersonishappy to stop yelling at Darren.**

**(Everyone hides)**

**(Door opens and Nymphadora-CullenBAU walks in)**

**Everyone: SURPRISE!**

**N-CBAU: Thanks, guys.**

**Jack: Yes, now where's the cake?**

**I don't own Criminal Minds, Harry Potter, NCIS, Girl Scouts, Doritos, etc.**

* * *

_"Lots of people limit their possibilities by giving up easily. Never tell yourself this is too much for me. It's no use. I can't go on. If you do you're licked, and by your own thinking too. Keep believing and keep on keeping on." ~ Norman Vincent Peale_

* * *

Reid stumbled through the woods. He was extremely short of breath after only having walked for five minutes. _Symptoms of dilaudid overdose include…_ Reid stopped himself from thinking any farther. He concentrated instead on keeping his balance. He was dizzy and his knee was throbbing with pain. _Muscle weakness, shallow breathing, dizziness, fainti- STOP IT!_ He told himself firmly. He wasn't going to give up. _Not yet._ Overcome with nausea, he stopped and vomited on the side of the path. The man stopped for a second, waited till Reid was done, then continued to pull him roughly by the chain attached to Reid's shackles.

* * *

"Where is he?!?" Morgan cried in frustration.

"Calm down. We need to think clearly about this," Hotch reminded him.

Morgan fumed.

"Can you find anything Garcia?" Rossi asked.

"I found a website for rentable cabins in the area…"

"What does it say?" JJ asked.

"I'm looking, I'm looking."

The short silence stretched out for a century.

"Okay, it looks like a cabin was rented out about three months ago to someone and it's currently still in his, or her, possession," Garcia said.

"That seems about the right time for Fuchs to come down so he could pick his victim," Morgan said.

The rest of the team nodded in agreement.

"The cabin belongs to a person with the username TinaQTICO2. She apparently lives near Quantico, so that's probably how Fuchs got set up with her," Garcia's eyes were scanning the page fast enough to rival Reid's super reading.

"Does it list an address?" Hotch questioned.

"No, but there is a phone number." Garcia turned the laptop to show Hotch.

Hotch dialed. The phone ringing could be heard even without speaker phone, the room was so quiet.

"Hello?" came a muffled female voice.

"Yes, this is Agent Hotchner. I'm with the FBI and I'm afraid that the case we're working on requires your assistance."

"Me?"

"Yes."

"Wh-what can I do?"

"I need to know the address of your cabin."

"My cabin?"

"Yes, it's believed that there is a kidnapper renting your cabin. He has a hostage right now. I need to know where it's located."

"Oh! Uh, yeah, sure. You ready?"

"Yes," Hotch said, accepting a paper pad and pencil from Prentiss. He scribbled the address down.

"Thank you."

"No problem. I hope you find this guy, and whoever he's got."

"Me too." Hotch hung up the phone. "Let's go."

Morgan made a move, but Garcia pushed him back into a sitting position. "No. You're going to sit this one out. I can't have you get shot again."

"But Reid-"

"Reid has the rest of the team," Garcia said firmly. "He'll be fine."

* * *

_Where am I going to take him?_

_Far enough away that they won't be able to find him._

_But if they can't find him, how is this going to work?_

_They'll feel like they have to split up. Once that happens, you can pick them off one by one._

_I see._

* * *

Reid shivered. A slight drizzle had started and he was soaked. He had tried talking to Fuchs, to reason with him, but Fuchs hadn't responded.

"Please, can we stop and rest?" Reid attempted yet again.

No response.

* * *

The team flew out of the SUV. Hotch and Rossi ran through to the front door of the cabin and stood on either side. Hotch nodded. Rossi opened the door and Hotch stepped into the doorway, gun raised.

Prentiss followed them inside. Fuchs wasn't there. Reid wasn't there. The chair sat empty.

Hotch walked over to the camera and stood in front of it. "Garcia, we found the cabin and we're going to track them. Call the police and tell them our location."

* * *

"Gotcha," Garcia said to the laptop screen. She let Morgan do the honors.

"Handel? It's SSA Morgan. They found the cabin and their trying to find Reid now… Yes, send back up." Morgan gave the address and hung up. "I hope they get to the team in time. Something about this just doesn't sit right with me."

* * *

Prentiss was the one to find the trail.

"You guys go, I'll stay here and tell the cops where to go once they get here," Rossi volunteered.

Prentiss and Hotch nodded their agreement before setting off through the rain.

Hotch turned back. "Be careful."

* * *

Reid coughed. His headache was back and he couldn't think straight. He had no idea where they were or where they had been. _Please, find me. Save me._

* * *

**What do you think? Give the worst. Okay… Maybe not the **_**worst**_** but tell me the truth. I can take it… maybe… I'm no Reid…**

**TinaQTICO2, did you like your reward? I figured since I can't really give you anything, I would make you the one who made it possible to find Reid. Hope you like the idea.**

**I can feel the end coming… Whether it's going to be good or bad remains to be seen… Hopefully good, though.**

**Well, I gotta go.**

**TTFN (ta-ta for now!)**

**~MyDarkAngel710**

**P.S.**

**Don't trust Wiki to give you the correct winning hands in poker.**

**P.S.S.**

**If any of you still want to join the party, just let me know. The party will have to end once this fanfic is over… :*(**

**P.S.S.S.**

**I probably won't get another chapter up till Wednesday... I might be able to pull a miracle, though. Maybe if you all ask real nice like... ;D**


	21. Searching

**DISCLAIMER:**

**(Doorbell rings)**

**Me: What's the secret password?**

**Familiar Voice: Uh… Criminal Minds?**

**Me: Good enough. (Opens door) HOTCH! PRENTISS! MORGAN! GARCIA! JJ! Now the party can really start!**

**Hotch: I hope we haven't missed much.**

**Me: No, not at all. You're just in time. We were about to play spin the bottle.**

**Morgan: My favorite game! Hey kid, you gonna play?**

**Reid: Uh, I don't know…**

**Morgan: Come on, it will be fun.**

**(Reid, still not sure, follows Morgan to the couch and sits)**

**Me: Okay guys, gather around.**

**(Everyone takes a seat around the coffee table)**

**Me: Who wants to start?**

**Morgan: I will! Now, who will be the lucky lady?**

**(Spins)**

**Me: I think this is a good time to say…**

**I don't own Criminal Minds.**

**Hey look! Now I have a cliffy for the opening! Lol! Who do you think the bottle should land on?**

* * *

"_I just feel, in life, I'm searching for something I can rely on, something that's constant and something that's going to guide me through. And I felt that the Northern Star is a very beautiful image for that." ~Melanie Chisholm_

* * *

The rain was pouring. Soon after Hotch and Prentiss had started down the path, the heaven's had let loose. Both were blinking furiously.

"Hotch, I can't see anything," Prentiss called over the rain.

"I know, but we can't stop now." Hotch pushed a low hanging branch out of his way.

"What's that?" Prentiss asked, grabbing the branch. On it was a piece bright red sweater thread.

* * *

Reid rubbed against the branch as he passed. He felt the slight tug on his sweater as he pulled away. He looked over his shoulder, hiding the act with a stumble. He saw the few threads flying on the bare branch. _I hope they can find these. It's the only chance I have…_

* * *

Hotch and Prentiss stood at a fork in the road.

"There." Hotch pointed to another string of red, which flared in stark contrast to the brown branch. "This way."

Prentiss followed Hotch down the path. She looked over her shoulder at the main path, trying to memorize the area. _I hope we can find our way out of here._

* * *

Morgan waited until Garcia went to the bathroom to check on JJ. Then he made his move. He quietly and quickly grabbed the keys to the SUV that had been left and stole out of the room. He hurried down the hall as he checked his gun to make sure it was loaded.

By the time Garcia came back into the main room, Morgan was gone. The ice cream cake Garcia had gotten as a gift sat on the table. A note sitting next to it read: _"You know I can't leave Reid out there. He would have done the same for me."_

Garcia stared at it for a moment, then drew in a deep breath. "MORGAN!" she screamed.

Morgan got into the SUV and peeled away.

* * *

Fuchs paused suddenly on the trail. Reid stumbled into him.

"We're here," Fuchs said without turning.

"Where?" Reid asked in confusion.

"It's time for you to go." Fuchs turned to Reid.

Reid started backing up.

* * *

The SUV's brakes squealed as Morgan pulled up to the cabin. Rossi looked up in confusion from the other SUV.

"Morgan?" he asked as they both got out of their respective cars to stand in the rain. "What are you doing here?"

"Garcia said I could go," Morgan lied. "I think I can really help you find Reid."

"I don't know… Why don't you stay here with me? I'm waiting for the cops to show up. Then we can all go catch up with Hotch and Prentiss to find Reid."

Morgan's brow crinkled. "Where did Hotch and Prentiss go?"

"Down that path- Wait! Morgan! Stop!" It was too late. Morgan had already taken off down the path.

* * *

Reid tripped over a log and fell to the ground, landing in the mud. His eyes were wide in fear as Fuchs came toward him.

"I know what you've been doing," Fuchs stated matter of factly.

"I do-"

"Don't lie. I've already fixed the problem. You're friends are going down the wrong path as we speak. I planted threads of your sweater on every tree earlier today."

Reid gulped.

"I have a feeling we won't be seeing your friends anytime soon. Right now, they are probably getting lost exactly where I want them to. Don't worry. I'll find them later."

Reid couldn't speak. _He knew everything that we would try. He even knows the team is here._

"I'm sorry you won't be able to see them. You're time is up."

* * *

Morgan paused to catch his breath. He wasn't out of shape, but the gunshot had done a number on him. He was following the red threads, just like Hotch and Prentiss had a few minutes before. _I've got to be getting close…_

* * *

Hotch and Prentiss paused in the clearing. They had followed the path to this spot and hadn't seen a sign of Reid or the unsub in quite a long time.

"I don't like this," Hotch said looking out at the open expanse. The rain had died down a bit and he could see that no one was in the open. "It's too easy for Fuchs to be standing in the trees at one side, waiting to get us."

"I have the same feeling," Prentiss agreed.

"You should feel that way."

Hotch and Prentiss whipped around to where the voice had come from. Fuchs stepped out of the trees his gun aimed at them. "Put the weapons down. Slowly. That's it."

"Where's Reid?" Prentiss asked.

"You're in no place to make demands, but I will tell you that he is going to be in a better place very soon," Fuchs grinned.

Hotch and Prentiss exchanged glances.

"Now, which of you wants to die first?"

Prentiss slowly started to back up.

"Not so fast, missy."

The sharp report of a gun echoed through the woods.

* * *

**Okay, so I managed to get one up and technically it's still Tuesday on my clock so… yeah…**

**Anyway… What do you think?**

**I've decided to get Morgan in on the action, I hope you guys agree. Though I definitely don't want to be around when Garcia finally finds him! Lol!**

**Thanks for all the Reviews! I love the comments you guys leave. Keep it up!**

**Reid and Review a bunch!**

**~MyDarkAngel710**


	22. Paths

**DISCLAIMER:**

**(The spinning bottle stops)**

**Morgan: Looks like you're my lucky lady.**

**Mogo Girl: (Sighs in delight)**

**Morgan: While I'm busy, Reid can take over.**

**Reid: What?!?**

**Morgan: You heard me. (walks away with Mogo Girl)**

**(Reid spins bottle. Lands on N-CBAU.)**

**N-CBAU: Yes! Happy Birthday to me!**

**Darren: My turn!**

**Insanepersonishapppy: NO! You're in enough trouble as it is. No girls for you.**

**(Darren grumbles)**

**(Morgan comes back)**

**Jack: I'll go.**

**(Bottle lands on JJ)**

**Jack: Okay, my love, let's have some fun, shall we?**

**JJ: I… got to us the bathroom.**

**Jack: (follows JJ) Don't leave me hanging!**

**Morgan: I'll go again. (Spins. I hold my breath.) Garcia… Looks like it's your turn.**

**(Morgan does a fancy lean the girl back while kissing her kiss)**

**(Garcia blushes)**

**(Reid comes back in)**

**Morgan: Have fun?**

**(Reid blushes)**

**(I come in with W.S.C. Magica De Spell and Krispy Kreme doughnuts.)**

**Neal: Doughnuts!**

**Morgan: Hostesses turn!**

**Me: Um, okay…**

**(Spins. I cross my fingers. Stops in middle of Reid and Morgan.)**

**Reid: What does this mean?**

**Morgan: It means that she's very lucky.**

**(I grin in delight.)**

**I don't own Criminal Minds, but I'm okay with that. ;)**

* * *

"_If it's natural to kill, how come men have to go into training to learn how?"~ Joan Baez_

* * *

The smile on Fuchs's face turned into a grimace of shock. "But… I thought… you said… they would leave me alone…" He fell face forward onto the field.

Hotch and Prentiss both quickly reached down and grabbed their guns. They slowly advanced on the fallen unsub, weapons ready. A snap in the brush made them both jump.

"Relax, guys, it's only me." Morgan stepped from the trees, his arms raised in mock surrender.

"Thank goodness you came!" Prentiss said as she holstered her gun.

"Don't thank me yet, you're still going to have to listen to Garcia."

"_You're_ going to have to listen to Garcia. We don't have to be any near," Hotch reminded him.

Morgan laughed nervously. "So, where's Reid?"

Hotch and Prentiss didn't speak. All three just looked at each other.

* * *

_Five minutes earlier…_

Rossi exited his SUV as the cops pulled up. He pulled his coat tighter. It was getting colder. _At least the rain is letting up,_ he thought.

"Agent Rossi?" an officer asked.

"That's me."

"Sherriff Handel sent us over. He said that you might need assistance."

"Yes. One of the FBI agents that came here was taken hostage. We kept it on the down low, but now we know that he's somewhere in these woods. We need your help to find him."

"Understood." The officer turned away and spoke to his team.

Rossi looked over to the path Hotch and Prentiss had first disappeared down, followed by Morgan.

A loud report of a gunshot echoed suddenly over the trees. Rossi and the team of police whipped to look in that direction.

"Let's move!" Rossi yelled as he started trotting toward the path. _Please let them be okay, oh please let them be okay…_

Rossi paused when he came to the fork in the path. After hesitating for half a second, he chose the same path as Hotch and Prentiss. He barely waited long enough for the cops to catch up. In his rush, he almost ran into Hotch, Morgan, and Prentiss as they came around a tree.

"Hotch!" Rossi managed through ragged breath as he clapped a hand to Hotch's shoulder. "I thought you guys were in trouble."

"We were until Morgan got there," Prentiss admitted.

"Where's Reid and Fuchs?"

"Fuchs is dead. Morgan shot him to save us. Send some police to go and collect the body."

"Okay." Rossi motioned to a couple of police men to come over. Hotch gave them directions to Fuchs's clearing.

"No," Rossi continued. "Where's Reid?"

"We don't know," Morgan said bitterly. "He wasn't near the clearing. We've checked all over."

"There was a fork in the path back a ways-"

"That's right! I remember taking this path when we saw the red threads!" Prentiss remembered.

"Reid must be down that way."

* * *

Reid stumbled blindly through the trees. He was totally lost. His clothes were freezing onto him. He was missing a shoe. He thought back to what had happened earlier.

Fuchs had dragged him to a river. Fuchs had given him one more shot of Dilaudin. Then Reid had been pushed into the water.

It was deeper than he had expected and moving faster because of the rain. Reid's shackled hands dragged him down. Using all the energy he had left, Reid managed to make it to the surface and from there to the shore. Fuchs was nowhere to be seen, but Reid didn't want to stay to see if he would show up.

Now, Reid was shivering badly. He had no idea which direction he needed to go to get out of the woods. He could only hope that he was going in the right direction and that if Hotch and the rest of the team were here, they would be able to find him.

* * *

"I found something!" an officer called from the top of a rock.

The team went up to meet him and immediately saw what he had seen. In the water just under the rock was a shoe in the water.

"Is that Reid's?" Morgan asked.

"I think so," Hotch said with a stony face.

"Oh, Reid," Prentiss whispered.

"Come on," Rossi led them back down to the river. It was moving fairly quickly. It was deep towards the middle. The rock they had been on was close enough to the center that, with a good push, a man could go straight to the center.

"The currents going this way. Let's look in that direction." Hotch motioned down the river. "It's our best bet."

* * *

**Sadly, this is drawing to a close. One or two chapters at most I think. :*(**

**I had so much fun… I'll save my thank you speech for the last chapter.**

**I don't know about you, but I really enjoyed playing spin the bottle…**

**Anymore fun party game ideas?**

**Oh, did any of you guys cheat? Are you psychic? How did you know I was going to have Morgan save the day? Yes, I'm talking to you N-CBAU and you LBricker88! You guys rock!**

**LOL**

**Well, I'll type you guys soon enough…**

**~MyDarkAngel710**


	23. Memories

**DISCLAIMER:**

**Me: I GOT IT! It was Mrs. White, in the Library, with the Lead Pipe!**

**Reid: You've only made one guess! The probability of you getting it right is-**

**Morgan: Reid, don't ruin the fun.**

**Me: SO, am I right?**

**Hotch: Uh, no.**

**Mrs. Wolfe-Sanders: Okay, my turn. Mr. Green, in the Kitchen, with the Revolver.**

**Hotch: That's right!**

**Reid: You cheated!**

**Mogo Girl: Like you don't!**

**Morgan: (laughing) I like this girl more and more…**

**I don't own Criminal Minds or Clue (and I apparently can't win at it either)**

* * *

_"It's surprising how much memory is built around things unnoticed at the time." ~Barbara Kingsolver_

* * *

"Reid?"

"Reid!"

"REID?!"

* * *

He couldn't walk anymore.

Reid curled up in the crook of the tree, cradling his broken arm. He was shivering violently. _Don't go to sleep._ He thought to himself again. He knew that if he did, he probably wouldn't wake up.

His vision blurred. He blinked furiously and shook his head. _Bad idea._ His head spun with the motion. Reid let out a groan as he let his head rest back against the tree.

His eyes drifted shut without him realizing it.

A million images flashed through his mind's eye. His mother reading poems to him. His father leaving. Ending his mother away. Being bullied at school. Joining the BAU. Meeting Morgan, Hotch, Elle, and JJ. And Gideon. Being kidnapped by Tobias…

Reid jerked awake. _No. I can't sleep._

He forced himself to start reciting the _Iliad _by Homer. He could only hope it would keep him awake.

* * *

"Any sign of him?"

"No."

"He's gotta be here somewhere…"

"Morgan, if we don't find him soon, we're going to have to assume-"

"Stop. We're going to find him, Hotch. He's still alive. Reid doesn't give up that easy."

"You have to remember, this hasn't been easy."

* * *

Reid stood in the doorway, his hands raised.

"She does exist Mr. Gardner and we're here to help her."

Gardner turned around in his chair, revealing a bomb attached to him.

Reid told Hotch and Morgan to wait downstairs.

"We aren't going anywhere," Morgan responded.

"Just ask the question, sir knight," Mr. Gardner said.

"I can't."

"Heal me!"

"A fisher king wound cannot be healed by somebody else. It's not a wound to the body it's a wound to the memory, to the mind."

"Just ask the question."

"There's only one real question. Can you forgive yourself?"

Reid gasped as he woke back up. He was breathing heavily. _Can you forgive yourself?_

* * *

"I shouldn't have left him at the station," Hotch said bitterly.

"You thought that would be the safest place for him," Prentiss attempted to comfort him.

"You did the right think. Reid left on his own accord," Rossi said.

* * *

"Yeah, yeah, you know Gideon stood toe to toe with some of the… the sickest people on the planet. I mean it took a lot of courage, right?

"Yeah."

"So why'd he do this? It's addressed to me, but I'm not… I'm not the only one that he abandoned.

"Why is it addressed to you? I think you need to read that letter again."

"I have an eidetic memory, Emily."

"Yeah, I know, and an IQ of 187. But what do you remember about your father?

"What do you mean?"

"He gave you 10 years before he left and yet you've erased all those memories. And it's too painful, I get it. But then Gideon leaves. I think you need to read that letter again and ask yourself why, of all the people, he walked away from… did he only explain himself to one person… you."

Prentiss paused in her search. She tilted her head back and looked at the sky. The sun was setting. _Who is Reid leaving behind?_

* * *

"Hey, Reid."

"'Reid' wow, uh, no witty Garcia greeting for me?"

"I can't be my sparkly self when you are where you are."

"Uh, Garcia, do you think you could do something for me?"

"Anything."

"I, uh, I know I can't call my mom without uh alerting everyone at her hospital."

"What do you need?"

"I need you to record a message for her incase anything happens to me."

"Oh, nothings going to happen to you. You're going to brilliantly find who did this and we're going to treat this strain."

"I hope you're right but if your not I just really want to make sure she hears my voice."

"Okay, just, give me a second."

"You ready?"

"Ready."

"Hi Mom, this is Spencer. I just really wanted you to know that I love you, and I need you to know that I spend every day of my life proud to be your son."

Garcia searched for the file. She hadn't deleted it. She stared at it once it was located. Tears leaked down her face.

* * *

"If anything happens to us, it's up to you and Garcia to make sure that this boy gets into Yale."

"Ooh Yale. Yale. Do you wanna go to Yale, Henry? That was your godfather's safety school. Don't worry, I can get you into Cal-tech with one phone call."

JJ suppressed another sob as she looked at herself in the mirror. She took out her phone and dialed Will's number.

* * *

"A popular theory among leading astrophysicists estimates that the hyper-matter reactor would need about ten to the thirty-second Joules if energy to destroy a planet the size of Earth. Now, Lucas said it took 19 years to build the first Death Star, right? If you look at the universal chronology, there's a tested prototype for Superlaser- where're you going?"

"Take back the last five minutes of my life."

Morgan kicked a log in frustration. What he wouldn't give to be listening to the kid now. If only he could have Reid back for five minutes more. It wouldn't be a waste.

* * *

"Well, Roadside motels definitely go on my list."

Reid looked at Emily funny.

"Of things to never do again."

"You have a _list_?"

"You _don't_?" Rossi asked, shocked.

Rossi called for Reid again. _If anyone should have a list, it should be this kid._

* * *

Reid looked up at the appearing stars as he shivered in the dimming twilight. _Please… please…_ Reid didn't know who he was pleading to or what for.

* * *

"Reid!"

"Reid?"

"Reid, where are you?"

"RE- Reid? Hotch! HOTCH!!! I found him! Hang on Reid. You're going to be okay. Just hang on, hang on…"

* * *

***Sniff* Only one more chapter… *Sniff***

**Sorry it took so long to get this up. I had to search really hard for just the right moments. I could find a specific one for Hotch, but I think I tied him in nicely.**

**I hope you liked it!**

**Reid and Review.**

**~MyDarkAngel710**


	24. Epilogue

**DISCLAIMER:**

**Me: It's the last chapter of the story… NOOOOOO!!!!!!!**

**Jack: What's wrong?**

**Me: It's the end! Don't you know what that means?!?**

**Neal: No, not really…**

**Me: It means that the party is going to end… *cry***

**Reid: Do we really have to leave?**

**Morgan: Yeah, we just got here, and I'm making some really cool friends.**

**(Mogo Girl blushes.)**

**Darren: Please!**

**Insanepersonishappy: I don't need to leave anytime soon.**

**Me: Well… okay! If you insist!**

**(Everyone cheers!)**

**Me: By the way, has anyone seen the Hogwarts trio and Hazeljv?**

**(Shaking of heads)**

**Me: Oh well. Nothing bad could have happened… right?**

**I don't own Criminal Minds or any of the characters mentioned above.**

* * *

"_Death is terrifying because it is so ordinary. It happens all the time." ~Susan Cheever_

* * *

The BAU team stood under black umbrellas at the funeral.

The rain pelted the umbrellas, partially drowning out the preacher's words. None of them needed to hear the words being spoken. They had heard them dozens of times before.

The officers folded the American flag laying over the casket. Each fold was precise, planned. A gun salute fired from a nearby hill.

Prentiss glanced at Hotch. He had his same expression he always had.

JJ stared at the ground. Her thoughts were distant, focused on Henry and Will.

Rossi watched the mother accept the folded flag. There were tears in her eyes. She put a hand to her mouth and held in her sobs.

Hotch reviewed the case in his mind. Trying to find a way that he could have avoided the deaths of all of the victims after the team's arrival.

Morgan watched the casket as if he expected it to move. Or open.

The guns finished their salute.

The mother stood and laid a flower on the casket. The rest of the funeral party filed past before gathering in small groups around the cemetery. Some wandered to other graves of friends or family members. The preacher gave condolences to all that shook his hand before he left.

The team didn't move for a while. None of them could believe that it was all over. They seemed to feel that way after almost every case.

Morgan turned to look at the final member of the team.

Reid was staring at the casket with a sad, dazed look in his eye. He had dark circles under his eyes that hadn't gone away for days, not helped by the black eye he had. Morgan was surprised that Reid had even come to Fuchs's funeral.

"You okay?" Morgan asked, causing the rest of the team to glance at Reid as well.

Reid shifted his shoulders, feeling the sling for his broken arm shift. He was leaning heavily on the cane that he had to use again for at least two weeks. His jaw was still sore from one of the punches. He thought of the marks in his other arm and the problems he would have to deal with again. He looked up at the sky and the falling rain. He closed his eyes as the rain hit his face. It was nice to enjoy the rain like this.

Reid considered the team. He managed a weak smile. "I'm going to be."

* * *

**So, the story is over. Maybe a sequel sometime in the future, but not right away. To serious and depressing sometimes.**

**In other news…**

**I LOVE the idea of writing a story about the party. I just can't decide if I should start from the beginning and add some stuff, or if I should pick up where I left off… Any ideas?**

**Now for the thank yous…**

**THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY!!! I'm so glad you liked the story. I tried to make it as true to the show as possible. It was your reviews that kept me going. I'm also really glad that you like my disclaimers. They were SOOO fun to write.**

**Thanks again for your support!**

**Reid and Review and tell me what you think about a party story!**

**~MyDarkAngel710**


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